diarrhoea

diarrhoea
\ \ [16] Diarrhoea means literally ‘through-flow’ (and hence semantically is a parallel formation to diabetes). It comes via late Latin diarrhoea from Greek diárrhoia, a term coined by the physician Hippocrates for ‘abnormally frequent defecation’. It was formed from the prefix dia- ‘through’ and rheinflow’ (a relative of English rheumatism and stream). Of other -rrhoea formations (or -rrhea, as it is generally spelled in American English), pyorrhoeainflammation of the tooth sockets’ was coined in the early 19th century, and logorrhoea at around the turn of the 20th, originally as a clinical term in psychology (although subsequently hijacked as a facetious synonym for ‘talkativeness’).
\ \ Cf.RHEUMATISM, STREAM

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • DIARRHOEA — Cyrenaicae reg. portus, Ptol. Zanara Marmolio …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • diarrhoea — variant spelling of DIARRHEA (Cf. diarrhea) (q.v.); see also OE (Cf. oe) …   Etymology dictionary

  • diarrhoea — is spelt in this way in BrE and diarrhea in AmE …   Modern English usage

  • diarrhoea — (US diarrhea) ► NOUN ▪ a condition in which faeces are discharged from the bowels frequently and in a liquid form. DERIVATIVES diarrhoeal adjective diarrhoeic adjective. ORIGIN Greek diarrhoia, from diarrhein «flow through» …   English terms dictionary

  • diarrhoea — n. 1) to come down with; have diarrhoea 2) severe diarrhoea 3) an attack of diarrhoea * * * [ˌdaɪə rɪə] have diarrhoea an attack of diarrhoea severe diarrhoea to come down with …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Diarrhoea — Diarrhea Di ar*rhe a, Diarrhoea Di ar*rh[oe] a, (d[imac] ar*r[=e] [.a]), n. [L. diarrhoea, Gr. dia rroia, fr. dia rrei^n to flow through; dia + rei^n to flow; akin to E. stream. See {Stream}.] (Med.) A morbidly frequent and profuse discharge of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • diarrhoea — [16] Diarrhoea means literally ‘through flow’ (and hence semantically is a parallel formation to diabetes). It comes via late Latin diarrhoea from Greek diárrhoia, a term coined by the physician Hippocrates for ‘abnormally frequent defecation’.… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • diarrhoea — n. frequent bowel evacuation or the passage of abnormally soft or liquid faeces. It may be caused by intestinal infections, other forms of intestinal inflammation (such as colitis or Crohn s disease), malabsorption, anxiety, and the irritable… …   Medical dictionary

  • diarrhoea — (AmE diarrhea) noun ADJECTIVE ▪ severe ▪ mild ▪ acute, chronic ▪ intermittent, persistent …   Collocations dictionary

  • diarrhoea — di|ar|rhoea BrE diarrhea AmE [ˌdaıəˈrıə] n [U] [Date: 1500 1600; : Late Latin; Origin: diarrhoea, from Greek diarrhein to flow through ] an illness in which waste from the ↑bowels is watery and comes out often …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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