chronic abnormal anxiety concerning the state of one's health, even in the absence of any evidence of disease on medical examination
Also called: hypochondriasis (ˌhaɪpəʊkɒnˈdraɪəsɪs), hypochondriasm (ˌhaɪpəˈkɒndrɪˌæzəm), illness anxiety disorder
Word origin
C18: from Late Latin: the abdomen, supposedly the seat of melancholy, from Greek hupokhondria, from hupokhondrios of the upper abdomen, from hypo- + khondros cartilage