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sick building syndrome

An illness affecting workers in office buildings, characterized by skin irritations, headache, and respiratory problems, and thought to be caused by indoor pollutants, microorganisms, or inadequate ventilation. Also called building sickness.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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