Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “allergy” come from?

Allergy derives from German Allergie, which combines Ancient Greek ἄλλος (other) with a suffix, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂élyos (other).

allergy (English): A disorder of the immune system causing adverse...

Definitions

  1. A disorder of the immune system causing adverse...

Ancestry of “allergy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanAllergieallergy
2Ancient Greekἄλλοςother, another, different, else; in combination...
3Ancient GreekκρίνωTo separate, divide, part, distinguish between...
4Proto-Hellenickríňňō—
5Proto-Indo-Europeankrinyéti—
6Proto-Indo-Europeankrey-to sift, separate, divide

Words derived from “allergy”

  • allergic
  • allergist
  • nonallergic
  • photoallergic
  • antiallergic
  • photoallergy
  • antiallergy
  • pseudoallergic
  • allergically
  • pseudoallergy
  • allergoid
  • allergylike
  • allergin
  • proallergic
  • nonallergy
  • hyperallergic
  • hypoallergic
  • autoallergy
  • aeroallergy
  • aeroallergic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European krey- →