alcoholism
UK /ˈælkəhɒˌlɪzəm/ · US /ˈælkə(ˌ)hɔˌlɪzəm/ noun
Forms alcoholisms
- noun A chronic disease caused by compulsive and uncontrollable consumption of alcoholic beverages, leading to addiction and deterioration in health and social functioning. “chronic alcoholism”
- noun (pathology) Acute alcohol poisoning.
Synonyms
dipsomania alcohol addiction inebriation drunkenness potomania
Etymology
From alcohol + -ism. Derived from New Latin alcoholismus chronicus, coined by the Swedish professor of medicine Magnus Huss in 1849.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Cf. F. alcoolisme.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “alcoholism”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details