Etymology

long covid

long CO·VID

Today it means: Long-term sequelae or symptoms (such as brain fog, extreme fatigue, or shortness of breath) following a COVID-19 infection, which persist after the SARS-CoV-2 virus is no longer active. Full definition →

First used 2020
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The story

Blend of long-term + COVID, coined by Elisa Perego, an archaeologist working in London and sufferer of the condition who used the term in tweets on the online social networking service Twitter as a hashtag and in running text in May 2020 (see the quotations), leading to its widespread use.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 2020 Long-term sequelae or symptoms (such as brain fog, extreme fatigue, or shortness of breath) following a COVID-19 infection, which persist after the SARS-CoV-2 virus is no longer active.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.