algesi-, alge-, alges-, algesio-, algi-, algio-, -algesia, -algesic, -algetic, -algic, -algia, -algy

(Greek: pain, sense of pain; painful; hurting)

Used actively in medical terminology to denote a condition of sensitivity to pain as specified by the combining root.

neogamalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Painful coitus of newlyweds: In the very beginning, Patty suffered when having sex with her husband, and after culsulting her doctor, she found out that it was termed neogamalgia and was not uncommon with the female partner.
nephralgia (s) (noun), nephralgias (pl)
Neuralgia in the kidneys: Different causes for nephralgia include kidney cancer, a kidney disease, and a bladder infection.
neuralgia (s) (noun), neuralgias (pl)
Pain of a severe, throbbing, or stabbing character in the course or distribution of one or more nerves; neurodynia: Sally learned that neuralgia could occur especially in the head or face as sharp and acute pain extending along the pathway of one or more nerves.
neuroleptoanalgesia (s) (noun) (no pl)
A state of analgesic consciousness: Neuroleptoanalgesia is produced by the administration of neuroleptic drugs, allowing painless surgery to be performed on a patient that is awake.
nostalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
1. A longing to return home or to one's native land; severe homesickness: When looking through the photo album, Sylvia sometimes had a feeling of nostalgia for California where she grew up as a kid.
2. A mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event something from the past: Jake was filled with nostalgia for his college days.
3. The pain of yearning for a former time in one’s life or for familiar people and surroundings: Smelling the bread baking in the oven gave Rebecca a feeling of nostalgia of how it used to be in the kitchen when she was a child.
4. Etymology: from 1770, "severe homesickness" (considered as a disease), Modern Latin, coined in 1668 by Johannes Hofer as a rendering of German heimweh, from Greek nostos, "homecoming" + algos, "pain, grief, distress".

The transferred sense of "wistful yearning for a past or earlier time", was first recorded in D.H. Lawrence's The Lost Girl in 1920.

Chinese Panda bears are homesick for China.
Word Info image © ALL rights reserved.

Homesickness or a strong desire to return to one's home

The pain of longing to return home, to a former time in one’s life, or to familiar people and surroundings; severe home sickness. The illustration above suggests that at least one of the Panda bears wants to return to China, its native land.

A nostalgic feeling is considered to be a mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event something from his or her past.

A strong desire for things and people from one's past.
© ALL rights are reserved.

A yearning to return to previous existences.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

notalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in the back; dorsalgia: Since Tim's back was agonizing him for about a week, he went to see his doctor who examined him and diagnosed him as having a form of notalgia without inflammatory symptoms.
nyctalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain that occurs only during sleep at night, or any recurrent nocturnal pain; night pain: Nyctalgia indicates especially the suffering connected with the bones due to syphilis.
odontalgia (s) (noun), odontalgias (pl)
An aching tooth; toothache: Little Mary complained of one of her teeth hurting her, so the dentist checked it and said that she had a case of odontalgia that could be treated.
odontoneuralgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Facial neuralgia caused by a carious tooth: Dr. T. told Sally that the odontoneuralgia she was suffering from would be relieved after he tended to the the tooth affected with decay, and that she should brush her teeth regularly every day to avoid another case of odontoneuralgia.
omalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Agony in the shoulder: Dr. Collins told Agatha that the omalgia she was affected with was a form of rheumatism in the shoulder.
omarthralgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in the shoulder joint: The aching Mr. Cartright was feeling in his shoulder was related specifically to the ball-and-socket joint of his shoulder and termed omarthralgia.
ombrosalgia (s) (noun), ombrosalgias (pl)
Pain felt during rainy weather: Whenever it was raining, Sara's mother would suffer from ombrosalgia, or pain in the joints of her body.
onychalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in the nails or claws: The elderly Mr. Lawson's fingernails were becoming cracked and were hurting him, and after being examined by his dermatologist, he was informed that he had a case of onychalgia.
oophoralgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain in an ovary; ovarialgia: Some reasons for a condition of oophoralgia can be ovarian cancer, an ovarian cyst, and ectopic pregnancy.
ophthalmalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)o
Pain in the eye or eyes; oculodynia: At the ophthalmologist's, Zoe found out that she had a condition of ophthalmalgia, specifically glaucoma, which was causing her left eye to hurt.

You may take self-scoring quizzes over some of the words in this unit by going to Algesi Quiz to check your word knowledge of these words.