NEWS Health News Word of the Week: Prodrome By Team Verywell Health Published on May 26, 2021 Share Tweet Email Print Alex Dos Diaz / Verywell Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology. Prodrome How to say it: Prodrome (pro-dro-m) What it means: An early sign or symptom of a disease. Where it comes from: From Greek "pro" meaning before and "dromos" meaning the act of running. MaximFesenko/Getty Where you might see or hear it: Everything from serious medical events like heart attacks to simple colds can have signs or symptoms leading up to them. If you get sick, your doctor might ask you how you were feeling in the hours or days before you became unwell. In your chart, they might note that these signs or symptoms were "prodromal" to the illness you came to see them for. When you might want to use it: If you get migraines, you are likely already familiar with prodromal signs and symptoms. For example, you might explain to your loved ones that you are having symptoms like changes to your vision or an "aura" that you know typically comes on before you get a migraine. Premonitory Symptoms: Predicting a Migraine Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Merriam-Webster. Definition of Prodrome. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit