Veisalgia
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The unpleasant after-effects of the consumption of alcohol; a hangover. uncountable
"There is no consensus definition of veisalgia ("alcohol hangover," from the Norwegian kveis, or "uneasiness following debauchery," and the Greek algia, or "pain"). Most descriptive and experimental studies have identified a set of common symptoms: headache, diarrhea, anorexia, tremulousness, fatigue, and nausea[…]. Perhaps the most alarming feature of veisalgia is its high prevalence. In a study of college students, 25% of students reported experiencing a hangover in the previous week and 29% reported losing school time for hangover recovery."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"There is no consensus definition of veisalgia ("alcohol hangover," from the Norwegian kveis, or "uneasiness following debauchery," and the Greek algia, or "pain"). Most descriptive and experimental studies have identified a set of common symptoms: headache, diarrhea, anorexia, tremulousness, fatigue, and nausea[…]. Perhaps the most alarming feature of veisalgia is its high prevalence. In a study of college students, 25% of students reported experiencing a hangover in the previous week and 29% reported losing school time for hangover recovery."
Etymology
From Norwegian kveis (“uneasiness after debauchery”) + -algia (pain, suffering) (from New Latin -algia, from Ancient Greek ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”)), coined as a medical term by Jeffrey G. Wiese, Michael G. Shlipak, and Warren S. Browner in a 2000 article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (see the quotation).
Related phrases
More for "veisalgia"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.