Down syndrome

English

WOTD – 7 October 2016

A father and his son with Down syndrome

Alternative forms

• Down’s syndrome (chiefly in the UK and Canada)

Etymology

Named after John Langdon Haydon Down (1828–1896), an English physician who first described the condition as a distinct form of mental disability in the 1860s.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /daʊn ˈsɪndɹəʊm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /daʊn ˈsɪndɹoʊm/, /-dɹəm/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Down syn‧drome

Noun

Down syndrome (uncountable) (chiefly US, Australia, New Zealand)

2. (neurology, medical genetics) A genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21 (a chromosomal excess), whereby the patients typically have a delay in cognitive ability and physical growth, as well as a small head and tilted eyelids. [from 1961.]

Usage notes

The condition is known only as Down's syndrome in the UK and Canada.

Synonyms

• Down's (informal)
• mongolism, Mongolian idiocy (now offensive)
• trisomy 21

Derived terms

• Down syndrome regression disorder

Translations

genetic disorder caused by a chromosomal excess

• Arabic: مُتَلَازِمَة دَاوْن f (mutalāzima(t) dāwn)
• Catalan: síndrome de Down (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 唐氏綜合症／唐氏综合症 (tong⁴ si⁶ zung³ hap⁶ zing³, tong⁴ si⁶ zung¹ hap⁶ zing³), 唐氏症 (tong⁴ si⁶ zing³)

  Mandarin: 唐氏綜合症／唐氏综合症 (zh) (Tángshì zōnghézhèng), 唐氏症 (zh) (Tángshìzhèng)

• Czech: Downův syndrom m
• Danish: Downs syndrom n
• Dutch: syndroom van Down n, downsyndroom (nl) n, mongolisme (nl) n
• Estonian: Downi sündroom
• Finnish: Downin oireyhtymä (fi), Downin syndrooma (fi)
• French: syndrome de Down (fr) m, trisomie 21 (fr) f
• German: Downsyndrom (de) n / Down-Syndrom (de) n, Trisomie 21 (de) f, Mongolismus (de) m (dated, now offensive)
• Greek: σύνδρομο Down (el) n (sýndromo Down)
• Hebrew: תסמונת דאון \ תִּסְמֹנֶת דָּאוּן (he) f (tismónet daun)
• Hindi: डाउन सिंड्रोम (ḍāun siṇḍrom)
• Hungarian: Down-szindróma (hu)
• Indonesian: sindrom Down
• Interlingua: syndrome de Down
• Italian: sindrome del Down f
• Japanese: ダウン症 (だうんしょう, Daun-shō)
• Korean: 다운 증후군 (daun jeunghugun)
• Malay: sindrom Down
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: Downs syndrom n

  Nynorsk: Downs syndrom n

• Persian: سندرم داون
• Polish: zespół Downa (pl) m
• Portuguese: síndrome de Down (pt) f
• Russian: синдром Дауна (ru) m (sindrom Dauna)
• Spanish: síndrome de Down m
• Swedish: Downs syndrom (sv) n
• Telugu: డౌన్ సిండ్రోము (ḍaun siṇḍrōmu)
• Turkish: Down sendromu
• Vietnamese: hội chứng Down
• Welsh: syndrom Down m or f

Further reading

• Down syndrome on Wikipedia.Wikipedia