rheumatic

rheumatic
\ \ [14] Greek rheuma meant literally ‘flow, stream’ (it came ultimately from the same Indo-European base as produced English stream, and was a close relative of the Greek verb rhein ‘flow’, which provides the second halves of English catarrh and diarrhoea). It was used for a ‘watery discharge from the body’, and was borrowed into English (via late Latin rheuma and Old French reume) as rheum [14] in the sense ‘mucous discharge from the eyes or nose’. Pains in the joints were in former times thought to be caused by watery secretions within the body, and so towards the end of the 17th century the term rheumatism was applied to them.
\ \ Cf.⇒ CATARRH, DIARRHOEA, RHYME, RHYTHM

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Rheumatic — Rheu*mat ic, a. [Gr. ??? subject to a discharge or flux: cf. L. rheumaticus, F. rhumatique. See {Rheum}, {Rheumatism}.] 1. Derived from, or having the character of, rheum; rheumic. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. (Med.) Of or pertaining to rheumatism;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rheumatic — [ro͞o mat′ik] adj. [ME reumatike < OFr reumatique < L rheumaticus < Gr rheumatikos: see RHEUM] of, caused by, characteristic of, or having rheumatism n. a person who has rheumatism the rheumatics Dial. rheumatic pains rheumatically adv …   English World dictionary

  • Rheumatic — Rheu*mat ic, n. One affected with rheumatism. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rheumatic — (adj.) late 14c., from O.Fr. reumatique, from L. rheumaticus troubled with rheum, from Gk. rheumatikos, from rheuma (see RHEUM (Cf. rheum)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • rheumatic — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ relating to, caused by, or suffering from rheumatism. ► NOUN ▪ a person with rheumatism. DERIVATIVES rheumaticky adjective (informal ). ORIGIN originally referring to infection characterized by rheum …   English terms dictionary

  • rheumatic — [[t]ruːmæ̱tɪk[/t]] 1) ADJ: ADJ n Rheumatic is used to describe conditions and pains that are related to rheumatism. Rheumatic joints are swollen and painful because they are affected by rheumatism. ...new treatments for a range of rheumatic… …   English dictionary

  • rheumatic — Relating to or characterized by rheumatism. SYN: rheumatismal. [G. rheumatikos, subject to flux, fr. rheuma, flux] * * * rheu·mat·ic ru̇ mat ik adj of, relating to, characteristic of, or affected with rheumatism <rheumatic pain> <a… …   Medical dictionary

  • rheumatic — rheu|mat|ic [ru:ˈmætık] adj 1.) relating to rheumatism ▪ a rheumatic disease ▪ rheumatic pain 2.) old fashioned suffering from rheumatism ▪ He s old and rheumatic and can t manage the stairs any longer …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • rheumatic — adj. Rheumatic is used with these nouns: ↑fever …   Collocations dictionary

  • rheumatic — rheu|mat|ic [ ru mætık ] adjective relating to or affected by RHEUMATISM: rheumatic pain/diseases …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • rheumatic — [rʊ matɪk] adjective relating to, caused by, or affected by rheumatism. noun a rheumatic person. Derivatives rheumatically adverb rheumaticky adjective (informal). Origin ME (orig. referring to infection characterized by rheum): from OFr.… …   English new terms dictionary

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