valetudinarian

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to this and other disputes in our Concise Usage Dictionary.
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The Word of the Day for October 28 is: 

valetudinarian   \val-uh-too-duh-NAIR-ee-un\   noun
     : a person of a weak or sickly constitution; especially : one whose chief 
concern is being or becoming a chronic invalid 

Example sentence:
     Will complained constantly of his aches, pains, and sniffles; he was a 
terrible valetudinarian.

Did you know?
     It's ironic that hypochondriacs and others who are convinced that their 
health is fragile often outlive their heartier compatriots. It is also ironic 
that "valetudinarian," a word for someone who is sickly (or at least thinks he 
or she is) comes from "valere," a Latin word that means "to be strong" or "to 
be well." Most of the English offspring of "valere" imply having some kind of 
strength or force -- consider, for instance, "valiant," "prevail," "valor," and 
"value." But the Latin "valere" also gave rise to "valetudo." In Latin, 
"valetudo" refers to one's state of health (whether good or bad), but by the 
time that root had given rise to "valetudinarian" in the early 1700s, 
English-speaking pessimists had given it a decidedly sickly spin.