Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Diagnosis
/ˌdaɪəɡˈnoʊsɪs/
Identification of an illness by examining its signs.
The Greek roots
διά
diá
through, apart
γνῶσις
gnôsis
knowledge
Literally: “knowing thoroughly”
The story of the word
To diagnose is to 'know through' — to distinguish one condition from another by careful discernment of symptoms.
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
In a sentence
The diagnosis brought both answers and relief.