English
rheumatic
Rheumatic comes from Latin rheumaticus ‘troubled with rheum (catarrh)’, from Ancient Greek ῥευματικός ‘subject to a discharge or flux’, and ultimately from ῥεῦμα ‘stream, flow’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥεῦμαrheûma‘stream, flow’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEῥευματικόςrheumatikós‘subject to a discharge or flux’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErheumaticus‘troubled with rheum (catarrh)’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600rheumatique
- Englishearliest quotation 1890rheumatic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥεῦμαrheûma‘stream, flow’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEῥευματικόςrheumatikós‘subject to a discharge or flux’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErheumaticus‘troubled with rheum (catarrh)’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600rheumatique
- Englishearliest quotation 1890rheumatic
Earliest quotation: 1890, The American practitioner: “It has been a clinical observation with me that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow’
stream, rhythm, maelstrom, 45 more
through Ancient Greek ῥέω ‘to flow’
Today it means
adj Resembling or relating to rheumatism.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ῥεῦμα / rheumatic