hypochondria
/ˌhʌɪpəˈkɒndrɪə
/noun [mass noun]
Abnormal chronic anxiety about one’s health.This week's feature is one from myself, all about hypochondria and health anxiety....
- Grandma's elephantine ankles, mother's hypochondria, Grandpa's grubbiness, are all experienced as her own.
- I think it's just paranoid hypochondria: now that I've bought the car I'm scared I won't be able to drive it without crippling myself.
Synonyms
imagined ill health, valetudinarianism, anxiety about one's health, preoccupation with one's health, health obsession;
neurosis
rare hypochondriasis, hypochondriacism
Origin
Late Middle English: via late Latin from Greek hupokhondria, denoting the soft body area below the ribs, from hupo 'under' + khondros 'sternal cartilage'. Melancholy was originally thought to arise from the liver, gall bladder, spleen, etc..