Symp"tom (?), n. [F.
symptôme, Gr. ? anything that has befallen one, a
chance, causality, symptom, fr. ? to fall together; sy`n
with + ? to fall; akin to Skr. pat to fly, to fall. See
Syn-, and cf. Asymptote, Feather.]
1. (Med.) Any affection which accompanies
disease; a perceptible change in the body or its functions, which
indicates disease, or the kind or phases of disease; as, the causes of
disease often lie beyond our sight, but we learn their nature by the
symptoms exhibited.
Like the sick man, we are expiring with all sorts of
good symptoms.
Swift.
2. A sign or token; that which indicates the
existence of something else; as, corruption in elections is a
symptom of the decay of public virtue.
Syn. -- Mark; note; sign; token; indication.