Nausea Means Seasickness
Nausea is the feeling of wanting to vomit. The Greek word means ship-sickness, from the same root as nautical.
Nausea is the sensation of wanting to vomit. The Greek *nausia* means seasickness, from *naus*, a ship — the same root as *nautical*, *astronaut* and *navy*. Motion sickness in general is thought to arise from a mismatch between what the eyes see and what the inner ear detects, and the sea is where humans first noticed it.
- The urge to vomit. *Waves of nausea.*
- Disgust. *Nausea at the news.*
- Nauseous — feeling or causing nausea. *A nauseous smell.*
- Nauseated — feeling sick. *I feel nauseated.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | nausea | Persistent nausea. |
| Adjective | nauseous | A nauseous odour. |
| Adjective | nauseated | Feeling nauseated. |
| Verb | nauseate | It nauseates me. |
| Related | nautical | Nautical miles. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Nausea means seasickness in Greek.From *naus*, a ship.
- Purists prefer *nauseated* for feeling sick.And *nauseous* for causing it.
- Motion sickness comes from sensory mismatch.Eyes and inner ear disagree.
Words from *naus*, a ship
- Nausea — seasickness
- Nautical — relating to ships
- Navy — a fleet
- Navigate — to steer a ship
- Astronaut — a star-sailor
From Latin *nausea*, from Greek *nausia*, seasickness, from *naus*, a ship.
Nauseous or nauseated?
Traditionally nauseous means causing nausea and nauseated means feeling it. In practice nauseous is now widely used for both.
What causes motion sickness?
A mismatch between visual and inner-ear signals about movement. Reading in a moving car produces it for exactly that reason.