diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbē-tēz  -ˈbē-təs 

: any of various abnormal conditions characterized by the secretion and excretion of excessive amounts of urine

especially : diabetes mellitus

Examples of diabetes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Thousands of workers become ill from pesticide poisonings each year, and studies have linked on-the-job use of a variety of pesticides with a higher risk of health problems including Parkinson's disease, breast cancer and diabetes. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024

The stories of Leonard Thompson and the many diabetes patients on insulin therapy who came after may be taken as a warning. —Gary Taubes, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2024

And this same pattern held true when the researchers only looked at the subset of people with type 2 diabetes. —Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024

While heart attacks, strokes, and sudden cardiac death might stand out the most in your relatives’ memories, make sure to ask about heart disease risk factors too, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. —Sarah Klein, TIME, 11 Apr. 2024

One study investigated the link between alcohol consumption and where body fat was distributed among participants diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. —Carey Rossi, Health, 9 Apr. 2024

Obstructive sleep apnea is also connected to type 2 diabetes, asthma, obesity, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, thyroid disease and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

With the weight loss results that type 2 diabetes users were getting made this a popular medication for those seeking to lose weight. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024

This is because excess belly fat promotes insulin resistance, which can contribute to high blood pressure and ultimately lead to Type 2 diabetes. —Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diabet, diabete, borrowed from Late Latin diabētēs, borrowed from Greek diabḗtēs, from diabē-, variant stem of diabaínein "to stride, walk or stand with legs apart, step across, cross over" (from dia- dia- + baínein "to step, walk") + -tēs, suffix of agency — more at come entry 1

Note: The literal sense of Greek diabḗtēs in relation to the base verb diabaínein is not entirely clear. The Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia (active ca. 130-40 A.D.), author of a detailed description of diabetes mellitus (in Book 2 of De causis et signis diuturnorum morborum), takes the name of the disorder as a given, and explains it as a particular application of the word diabḗtēs, the meaning of which he seems to regard as self-evident. It has been assumed that he alludes to diabḗtēs in the sense "siphon," referring to frequent urination, as if liquid was being drawn out of the sufferer by a siphon. In the following clause, however, he maintains that moisture (tò hygrón) does not stay in the body but leaves it "as if by a diabáthrē ("hókōs diabáthrēi")." The word diabáthra (Ionic diabáthrē)—also a derivative of diabaínein—has various attested meanings: "ladder," "gangway," "bridge." The suggestion has been made that "bridge" or "channel" is the most appropriate sense, though the mixing of metaphors is perhaps an indication that the text is corrupt, or that some no longer recoverable sense of the word is in play. (See discussion in Chalmers L. Gemmill, "The Greek concept of diabetes," Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, vol. 48, no. 8 [September, 1972], pp. 1033-36.)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing diabetes

• adult-onset diabetes
• diabetes insipidus
• diabetes mellitus
• insulin-dependent diabetes
• insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
• juvenile diabetes
• juvenile-onset diabetes
• non-insulin-dependent diabetes
• non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Kids Definition

diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbēt-ēz  -ˈbēt-əs 

: any of various bodily conditions in which abnormally large amounts of urine are produced

especially : diabetes mellitus

Medical Definition

diabetes

noun

di·​a·​be·​tes ˌdī-ə-ˈbēt-ēz  -ˈbēt-əs 

plural diabetes

: any of various abnormal conditions characterized by the secretion and excretion of excessive amounts of urine

especially : diabetes mellitus