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 Avella discovered that the patient had been diagnosed with diabetes, but rarely spoke of it. —

Ilana Arougheti, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2023 The inflammation associated with psoriasis raises the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and inflammatory bowel disease, for example. —

Amanda Gardner, Health, 14 Sep. 2023 But immunity diminishes over time and COVID remains a threat, especially for those who are older and people of all ages who have serious health problems such as lung conditions, weakened immune systems, or diabetes. —

Helena Oliviero, ajc, 11 Sep. 2023 As with many autoimmune diseases, having one (including type 1 diabetes) increases the likelihood of developing another. —

Isabella Cueto, STAT, 8 Sep. 2023 Most are harmless, but some have been implicated in genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, as well as more complex conditions like type 2 diabetes, which may be caused by a combination of small genetic changes. —

WIRED, 19 Sep. 2023 Hypertension and diabetes – a growing problem in the United States -- are the main cause of kidney failure. —

Brenda Cain, cleveland, 18 Sep. 2023 Diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy are largely driven by poor diabetic control and the length of time a person has diabetes. —

Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2023 Last month, the Biden administration released a list of the first 10 medications that will be subject to price negotiations with Medicare, including drugs that treat conditions like diabetes, arthritis, blood cancer and Chrohn’s disease, among others. —

Angela Roberts, Baltimore Sun, 18 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diabetes.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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.)