Etymology

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Today it means: A medical condition caused by advanced infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), characterized by a low CD4⁺ cell count or a range of clinical presentations (such as specific opportunistic infections and cancers). Full definition →

Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

Introduced on July 27, 1982 at a Washington, D.C. meeting that involved gay-community leaders, federal bureaucrats, and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was created as a replacement for the former term for the disease, gay-related immunodeficiency (GRID), which was deemed misleading after determining that AIDS was not isolated to the gay community.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.