issue

Definition

The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow

Etymology

From Middle English issue, from Old French issue (“an exit, a way out”), feminine past participle of issir (“to exit”), from Latin exeō (“go out, exit”), from prefix ex- (“out”) + eō (“go”). The legal meaning originated from the concept of "the end or result of pleadings in a suit (by presenting the point to be determined by trial)," leading to the sense of "the controversy over facts in a trial" (early 14th century, Anglo-French). This later extended to mean "a point of contention between two parties" (early 15th century) and more generally, "an important point to be decided" (1836). Consequently, the verbal phrase take issue with emerged in 1797 (preceded by join issue in the 1690s), meaning "to adopt an affirmative or negative stance in a dispute with another." The expression to have issues, meaning "to have unresolved conflicts," dates back to 1990.

Example Sentences

• "The technique minimizes the issue of blood from the incision."
• "And behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelue yeeres, came behinde him [Jesus], and touched the hemme of his garment."
• "For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses."

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