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Chronic - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Chronic : adj
1: being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long
suffering; "chronic indigestion"; "a chronic shortage
of funds"; "a chronic invalid" [ant: acute]
2: having a habit of long standing; "a chronic smoker" [syn: confirmed,
habitual, inveterate(a)]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Chronic : \Chron"ic\, a. [L. chronicus, Gr. ? concerning time,
from ? time: cf. F. chronique.]
1. Relating to time; according to time.
2. Continuing for a long time; lingering; habitual.
Chronic disease, one which is inveterate, of long
continuance, or progresses slowly, in distinction from an
acute disease, which speedly terminates.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Chronic : Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
A chronic condition is one lasting 3 months or more, by the definition of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. In ancient Greece, the "father of medicine" Hippocrates
distinguished diseases that were acute (abrupt, sharp and brief) from those that were chronic. This is still a very useful distinction. Subacute has been coined to designate the mid-ground between
acute and chronic.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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