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IDIOPATHIC

idios of an individial + pathos Greek, disease

Idios, Greek, of an individial, peculiar to one person; compare idiotes Greek, a private person. Idiot and idiocy obviously contain this root. They derive from idiotes which was the word for a private person, as opposed to a person of rank and influence holding public office in ancient Greece. Hence, it was supposed, an idiotes was ignorant and stupid. The ancient Greeks were rather free in their putdowns of common people. Consider hoi polloi (hoi polloi Greek, the many), a phrase referring to the general mob of humanity, and still used pejoratively in English today.

Idiopathic in medicine means 'pertaining to a disease of unknown cause.' Thus, an idiopathic cardiomyopathy is any heart-muscle disease of unknown cause (cardio- heart + myos of a muscle + pathos Greek, disease). Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a serious lung disease, with no known etiology (cause).

 

 

 

IDIOSYNCRASY

idios of an individial + syn together + krasis Greek, mixture

Idiosyncrasy in common speech is a pecularity of an individual. In medicine, it is used to label an unusual response to a drug. An idiosyncratic effect of taking a drug might be the patient's toxic response to a dosage normally considered safe.