hormesis

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὅρμησις (hórmēsis), from Ancient Greek ὁρμή (hormḗ).

Noun

hormesis (countable and uncountable, plural hormeses)

1. (biology, toxicology) A phenomenon in which an environmental agent or stressor produces a stimulatory or beneficial effect at low doses and an inhibitory or harmful effect at higher doses, corresponding to a biphasic dose-response relationship.
   • 2010, Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, chapter 5, in Merchants of Doubt:

     So the concept of a permissible, safe, or “threshold” dose gained currency, and this was used to set standards in industries where workers were exposed to radiation, such as uranium mining and nuclear power generation. Some people went even further, arguing for radiation hormesis—that small doses of radiation were actually good for you.

   • [2016 October 3, Tad Friend, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker‎^[1]:

     Though he is given to gee-whizzery about anything “super awesome”—Small amounts of radiation are actually good for you! It’s called radiation hormesis!—he has scant interest in the specifics of the apps that many YC companies produce; what intrigues him is their potential effect on the world.]

Derived terms

• mitohormesis
• neurohormesis
• xenohormesis

Related terms

• hormetin

See also

• mithridatism
• the dose makes the poison

Further reading

• “hormesis”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• Moshiers, heroisms