Pyrexic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a medical state signifying an elevation in body heat that usually suggests an underlying health issue
2. Pertaining to conditions marked by increased body temperature, commonly associated with fever and illness
3. Referring to a physiological condition characterized by an elevated body temperature, which often indicates the presence of disease or infection

Etymology: "Pyrexic" is simply "pyrexia" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ic", so its story is really the story of the root behind it. "Pyrexia" comes from Greek "pyretos", meaning fever, which is built on "pyr", fire. The Greeks saw a feverish body as one burning from within, and that image of heat is still locked inside the word. The suffix "-ic" arrived in English from Latin "-icus", which passed through Old French "-ique" and Middle English "-ik" before settling into its modern form. It is one of the most productive endings in English, turning a noun into a descriptive adjective, so "pyrexic" means simply "relating to or having fever."

Synonyms: feverish, febrile