allergenn.
/ˈalədʒɛn/, /ˈalədʒ(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈælərˌdʒɛn/, /ˈælərdʒ(ə)n/ Any substance or agent that is capable of eliciting an allergic reaction.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered sensation > [noun] > allergy > substance producing
allergen1911
1911 C. E. von Pirquet in Arch. Internal Med. 7 271 The sensitizing substance, for which I proposed the name ‘allergens’.
1923 Westm. Gaz. 16 Feb. 8/6 The majority of cases of spasmodic asthma were due to some allergen.
1942 F. R. Moulton Aerobiology 7 Relatively little is known about air-borne bacteria as possible allergens.
1957 New Scientist 7 Nov. 39/1 These agents [sc. antibodies] are called allergens when they produce allergic reactions like hay fever.
1973 E. Jong Fear of Flying (1974) xi. 164 The centuries of old dust (and other more sinister allergens).
1985 W. Frain-Bell Cutaneous Photobiol. v. 94 It was considered by some that a photoproduct of the absorbed salicylanilide was created which then acted as a potent allergen.
1994 Dog World June 28/2 The target organ..for inhaled allergens is the skin.
2007 Daily Tel. 22 June 13/7 Research from the United States has shown that perfluoro-octanoic acid may make the immune system overreact to allergens such as dust mites.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1911