diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbē-tēz How to pronounce diabetes (audio) -ˈbē-təs How to pronounce diabetes (audio)
: any of various abnormal conditions characterized by the secretion and excretion of excessive amounts of urine
especially : diabetes mellitus

Examples of diabetes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
One complicating factor: gastroparesis can stem from diabetes, the condition that causes many people to start using GLP-1 drugs in the first place. —Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024 These include heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024 Those drugs include insulin to treat diabetes, blood thinners to prevent clots, as well as a drug to treat leukemia and lymphoma, and treatments for autoimmune arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. —Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 1 Nov. 2024 The diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy are now considered to be available after more than two years of being considered in shortage by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). —Joseph Choi, The Hill, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for diabetes 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diabet, diabete, borrowed from Late Latin diabētēs, borrowed from Greek diabḗtēs, from diabē-, variant stem of diabaínein "to stride, walk or stand with legs apart, step across, cross over" (from dia- dia- + baínein "to step, walk") + -tēs, suffix of agency — more at come entry 1

Note: The literal sense of Greek diabḗtēs in relation to the base verb diabaínein is not entirely clear. The Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia (active ca. 130-40 A.D.), author of a detailed description of diabetes mellitus (in Book 2 of De causis et signis diuturnorum morborum), takes the name of the disorder as a given, and explains it as a particular application of the word diabḗtēs, the meaning of which he seems to regard as self-evident. It has been assumed that he alludes to diabḗtēs in the sense "siphon," referring to frequent urination, as if liquid was being drawn out of the sufferer by a siphon. In the following clause, however, he maintains that moisture (tò hygrón) does not stay in the body but leaves it "as if by a diabáthrē ("hókōs diabáthrēi")." The word diabáthra (Ionic diabáthrē)—also a derivative of diabaínein—has various attested meanings: "ladder," "gangway," "bridge." The suggestion has been made that "bridge" or "channel" is the most appropriate sense, though the mixing of metaphors is perhaps an indication that the text is corrupt, or that some no longer recoverable sense of the word is in play. (See discussion in Chalmers L. Gemmill, "The Greek concept of diabetes," Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, vol. 48, no. 8 [September, 1972], pp. 1033-36.)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diabetes was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing diabetes

Dictionary Entries Near diabetes

diabatic

diabetes

diabetes insipidus

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Diabetes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diabetes. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

diabetes

noun
di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbēt-ēz How to pronounce diabetes (audio) -ˈbēt-əs How to pronounce diabetes (audio)
: any of various bodily conditions in which abnormally large amounts of urine are produced
especially : diabetes mellitus

Medical Definition

diabetes

noun
di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbēt-ēz How to pronounce diabetes (audio) -ˈbēt-əs How to pronounce diabetes (audio)
plural diabetes
: any of various abnormal conditions characterized by the secretion and excretion of excessive amounts of urine
especially : diabetes mellitus

More from Merriam-Webster on diabetes

Nglish: Translation of diabetes for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of diabetes for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about diabetes

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