diathesis \dahy-ATH-uh-sis\,
noun:
Pathology. a constitutional predisposition or tendency, as to a particular disease or affection.
There are indications of a strumous diathesis. In broad terms, I may say that you have a constitutional and hereditary taint.
-- Arthur Conan Doyle, "Round the Red Lamp," 1894
The diathesis or mental constitution of the recipient, and the material operations which he performs on these images by virtue of this diathesis.
-- Edited by Robin Osborne and Jeremy Tanner, "Art's Agency and Art History," 2007
Diathesis comes from the Greek word diáthesis meaning "arrangement, disposition."
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