Apeptic

/əˈpɛp.tɪk/ adjective

Definition

Relating to or characterized by apepsia or apepsy; lacking proper digestive enzymes or the ability to digest food.

Etymology

From Greek a- (without) + peptikos (able to digest), formed as a medical adjective in the 19th century following the pattern of other digestive condition descriptors.

Kelly Says

An apeptic condition in a 19th-century patient was basically a death sentence if they couldn't find the underlying cause—and often they couldn't, because enzyme deficiencies weren't understood until the 20th century.

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