c.1300, from Anglo-French weyver to abandon, waive, Old French weyver, guever to abandon, give back, probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse veifa to swing about, from Proto-Germanic *waibijanan (see waif). In Middle English legal language, used of rights, goods, or women. Related: Waived; waiving.
1. : affected with a disease or illness: ill. â sometimes used figuratively. â see also airsick, carsick, seasick. He is at home sick in bed. She is sick with the flu. I'm too sick to go to work. a sick dog. The medicine just made me sicker. The sickest patients are in intensive care.
mental illness noun. [uncountable] the state of feeling ill or of having a disease He missed five days of school because of illness. patients who are recovering from major surgery or serious illness. Synonyms and related words. General words for illnesses, diseases and medical conditions:illness, disease, sickness... Explore Thesaurus. a. [countable] a particular disease, or a period of being ill She had had no serious illnesses, and had never been in hospital.