-ikos

connected with or characteristic of

Forms

-ikos
-ic — The ending shortened as Greek words entered Latin, French, and English.

Origin

Greek -ikos continued an older Indo-European ending used to describe a connection or kind.

Note

English extended this borrowed ending to newly coined words.

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adjective

chronic

KRAH-nik/ˈkrɑːnɪk/

Lasting or recurring for a long time and often difficult to resolve.

His chronic knee pain continues through changing seasons.

A text-free three-panel sequence shows the same older man experiencing the same knee pain across spring, summer and winter, making recurrence over a long period visible.

Etymology

chronGreektime

+icGreekconnected with or characteristic of

Originally meaning “concerning time,” chronic entered English describing diseases that lasted a long time. That medical use connects the time root to enduring or repeatedly recurring conditions.

In context

Moran CORE4:38

… it occurs in young kids it's chronic it's insidious it's a long time

Anterior Uveitis (Pediatric) and Intermediate Uveitis [ARCHIVE]

More examples

Her chronic cough lasted for months.
The department has chronic staffing problems.
Regular repairs failed to solve the chronic leak.

Forms

chronic

chronically adverb — persistently or repeatedly over a long period

Similar words

persistent: Continuing despite efforts to stop it.
recurrent: Returning repeatedly rather than necessarily continuous.