AIDS

[eydz] /eɪdz/
noun, Pathology
1.
a disease of the immune system characterized by increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections, as pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and candidiasis, to certain cancers, as Kaposi's sarcoma, and to neurological disorders: caused by a retrovirus and transmitted chiefly through blood or blood products that enter the body's bloodstream, especially by sexual contact or contaminated hypodermic needles.
Compare AIDS virus.
Origin
1982; a(cquired) i(mmune) d(eficiency) s(yndrome)
Can be confused
aides, aids, AIDS.

aid

[eyd] /eɪd/
verb (used with object)
1.
to provide support for or relief to; help:
to aid the homeless victims of the fire.
2.
to promote the progress or accomplishment of; facilitate.
verb (used without object)
3.
to give help or assistance.
noun
4.
help or support; assistance.
5.
a person or thing that aids or furnishes assistance; helper; auxiliary.
6.
aids, Manège.
  1. Also called natural aids. the means by which a rider communicates with and controls a horse, as the hands, legs, voice, and shifts in weight.
  2. Also called artificial aids. the devices by means of which a rider increases control of a horse, as spurs, whip, and martingale.
7.
aide-de-camp.
8.
foreign aid.
9.
a payment made by feudal vassals to their lord on special occasions.
10.
English History. (after 1066) any of several revenues received by a king in the Middle Ages from his vassals and other subjects, limited by the Magna Charta to specified occasions.
Origin
1375-1425; (noun) late Middle English ayde < Anglo-French, Old French aide, noun derivative of aid(i)er < Latin adjūtāre to help (frequentative of adjuvāre), equivalent to ad- ad- + -jū- help + -t- frequentative suffix + -āre infinitive suffix; (v.) < Anglo-French, Old French aid(i)er < Latin, as above
Related forms
aider, noun
aidful, adjective
aidless, adjective
unaided, adjective
unaidedly, adverb
unaiding, adjective
Can be confused
aid, aide (see usage note at the current entry)
aides, aids, AIDS.
Synonyms
1. See help. 2. abet, back, foster, advance. 4. succor; relief; subsidy, grant.
Antonyms
2. hinder, frustrate.
Usage note
Although the nouns aid and aide both have among their meanings “an assisting person,” the spelling aide is increasingly used for the sense “helper, assistant”: One of the senator's aides is calling. Aide in military use is short for aide-de-camp. It is also the spelling in nurse's aide.

AID

[eyd] /eɪd/
noun, U.S. Government
1.
the division of the United States International Development Cooperation Agency that coordinates the various foreign aid programs with U.S. foreign policy: established in 1961.
Origin
A(gency for) I(nternational) D(evelopment)
Examples from the web for AIDS
  • Soon after, she and the world learned that he was dying of AIDS.
  • Trying to keep infested areas covered by clothing or band AIDS.
  • Cryptococcosis is a defining opportunistic infection for AIDS.
  • A subset of the immunocompromised population is people with AIDS.
British Dictionary definitions for AIDS

AIDS

/eɪdz/
noun acronym
1.
acquired immune (or immuno-)deficiency syndrome: a condition, caused by a virus, in which certain white blood cells (lymphocytes) are destroyed, resulting in loss of the body's ability to protect itself against disease. AIDS is transmitted by sexual intercourse, through infected blood and blood products, and through the placenta

aid

/eɪd/
verb
1.
to give support to (someone to do something); help or assist
2.
(transitive) to assist financially
noun
3.
assistance; help; support
4.
a person, device, etc, that helps or assists: a teaching aid
5.
(mountaineering) Also artificial aid. any of various devices such as piton or nut when used as a direct help in the ascent
6.
(in medieval Europe; in England after 1066) a feudal payment made to the king or any lord by his vassals, usually on certain occasions such as the marriage of a daughter or the knighting of an eldest son
7.
(Brit, informal) in aid of, in support of; for the purpose of
Derived Forms
aider, noun
Word Origin
C15: via Old French aidier from Latin adjūtāre to help, from juvāre to help

Aid

combining form
1.
denoting a charitable organization or function that raises money for a cause: Band Aid, Ferryaid

AID

abbreviation
1.
acute infectious disease
2.
artificial insemination (by) donor: former name for Donor Insemination (DI)
Word Origin and History for AIDS
n.

1982, acronym formed from acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS cocktail attested by 1997, the thing itself said to have been in use from 1995.

aid

n.

early 15c., "wartime tax," also "help, support, assistance," from Old French aide, earlier aiudha "aid, help, assistance" (9c.), from Late Latin adjuta, from fem. past participle of Latin adiuvare (past participle adiutus) "to give help to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + iuvare "to help" (see adjutant). Meaning "thing by which assistance is given" is recorded from c.1600. Meaning "material help given by one country to another" is from 1940.

v.

c.1400, "to assist, help," from Old French aidier "help, assistance," from Latin adiutare, frequentative of adiuvare (past participle adiutus) "give help to" (see adjutant). Related: Aided; aiding.

AIDS in Medicine

AID abbr.
artificial insemination donor

AIDS (ādz)
n.
A severe immunological disorder caused by HIV, transmitted primarily through venereal routes or by exposure to contaminated blood or blood products, resulting in a defect in cell-mediated immune response manifested by increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and to certain rare cancers, especially Kaposi's sarcoma.

AIDS in Science
AIDS
  (ādz)   
Short for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. An infectious disease of the immune system caused by an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS is characterized by a decrease in the number of helper T cells, which causes a severe immunodeficiency that leaves the body susceptible to a variety of potentially fatal infections. The virus is transmitted in infected bodily fluids such as semen and blood, as through sexual intercourse, the use of contaminated hypodermic syringes, and placental transfer between mother and fetus. Although a cure or vaccine is not yet available, a number of antiviral drugs can decrease the viral load and subsequent infections in patients with AIDS.
AIDS in Culture
AIDS [(aydz)]

Acronym for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a fatal disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. Believed to have originated in Africa, AIDS has become an epidemic, infecting tens of millions of people worldwide. The virus, which is transmitted from one individual to another through the exchange of body fluids (such as blood or semen), attacks white blood cells, thereby causing the body to lose its capacity to ward off infection. As a result, many AIDS patients die of opportunistic infections that strike their debilitated bodies. AIDS first appeared in the United States in 1981, primarily among homosexuals and intravenous drug users who shared needles, but throughout the world, it is also transmitted by heterosexual contact. Today, scientists are hopeful that AIDS can be managed by new drugs, such as protease inhibitors, and need not be fatal. (See AZT.)

AIDS in Technology
jargon
/aydz/ A* Infected Disk Syndrome ("A*" is a glob pattern that matches, but is not limited to, Apple Computer), this condition is quite often the result of practicing unsafe SEX.
See virus, worm, Trojan horse, virgin.
[Jargon File]
(1995-04-13)
Related Abbreviations for AIDS

AIDS

acquired immune deficiency syndrome

AID

Agency for International Development