allergic

the term 'allergic' originates from early 20th century medical science, built from greek components. the core concept combines 'allos' (other) and 'ergon' (work, action) to literally mean 'altered reaction'. this describes the physiological basis of an allergy, where the body's immune system performs a different or abnormal action in response to a normally harmless substance. the suffix '-ic' was added to form an adjective. the modern figurative sense of 'having an aversion to' logically extends from the physical reaction to imply a strong, often negative, response to an idea or situation.

Structure: all (other) + erg (work) + ic (adjective suffix) all- from greek 'allos' meaning 'other, different'. erg- from greek 'ergon' meaning 'work, action'. -ic from latin '-icus', a suffix forming adjectives meaning 'pertaining to'.