syndrome

noun

Etymology: Learned borrowing from New Latin syndrome, from Ancient Greek συνδρομή (sundromḗ, “concurrence of symptoms, concourse”), from σύνδρομος (súndromos, “running together”), from συν- (sun-, “with”) + δρόμος (drómos, “running, course”).

1. A recognizable pattern of signs, symptoms and/or behaviours, especially of a disease or medical or psychological condition.

   “Down syndrome; acquired immune deficiency syndrome; restless-leg syndrome; battered-wife syndrome”

   “A “zone of rarity” emerges when symptoms cluster neatly into syndromes and interforms are uncommon, although not altogether absent. Fuzzy boundaries and interforms are a special problem for PTSD […]”

2. Any set of characteristics regarded as identifying a certain type, condition, etc., usually adverse.

   “not-in-my-backyard syndrome; tip-of-the-tongue syndrome”

   “My roommate, Tony, and I were sitting in our living room on a Saturday afternoon trying to decide what to do that night. You know the syndrome: Saturday night when everyone is supposed to do something exciting and have a great time. If you don't, you're likely to wake up on Sunday morning feeling weird and lonely.”