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Origin and history of phthisis

phthisis(n.)

"disease of the lungs characterized by progressive disintegration of pulmonary tissue" (usually synonymous with pulmonary tuberculosis, consumption), c. 1300, tisik, pthisic, tphisike, etc., from Late Latin phthisis "consumption," from Greek phthisis "wasting, consumption; perishing, decay; waxing," from phthiein "to decay, waste away," from PIE root *dhgwhei- "to perish, die away" (source also of Sanskrit ksitih "destruction," ksinati "perishes"). The restored classical spelling is from early 16c.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to phthisis

phthisic(adj.)

late 14c., tysyk "of or pertaining to a wasting disease, wasting the flesh," from Old French tisike, phtisique "consumptive" (11c.), from Latin phthisicus (Medieval Latin ptisicus, tisicus), from Greek phthisikos "consumptive," from phthisis "wasting, consumption" (see phthisis). It is attested earlier in English as a noun meaning "consumption, wasting disease of the lungs" (mid-14c.). Related: Phthisical.

The old pronunciation dropped the ph-, but this will probably recover its sound now that everyone can read. [Fowler]
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    consumption
    late 14c., "wasting of the body by disease; wasting disease, progressive emaciation" (replacing Old English yfeladl "the evil disease"), from Old French consumpcion, from Latin consumptionem (nominative consumptio) "a using up, wasting," noun of state from past-participle stem of
    tuberculosis
    1860, "disease characterized by tubercules," a medical Latin hybrid, from Latin tuberculum "small swelling, pimple," diminutive of tuber "lump" (from PIE root *teue- "to swell") + -osis, a suffix of Greek origin. So called in reference to the tubercules which form in the lungs. O
    pulmonary
    "of or pertaining to the lungs; affecting the lungs; done by means of the lungs," 1704, from French pulmonaire and directly from Latin pulmonarius "of the lungs," from pulmo (genitive pulmonis) "lung(s)," cognate with Greek pleumon "lung," Old Church Slavonic plusta, Lithuanian p
    disease
    early 14c., "discomfort, inconvenience, distress, trouble," from Old French desaise "lack, want; discomfort, distress; trouble, misfortune; disease, sickness," from des- "without, away" (see dis-) + aise "ease" (see ease (n.)). Restricted pathological sense of "sickness, illness"
    white
    Old English hwit "bright, radiant; clear, fair," also as a noun (see separate entry), from Proto-Germanic *hweit- (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian hwit, Old Norse hvitr, Dutch wit, Old High German hwiz, German weiß, Gothic hveits), from PIE *kweid-o-, suffixed form of ro
    plague
    late 14c., plage, "affliction, calamity, evil, scourge, severe trouble or vexation;" early 15c., "malignant disease," from Old French plage (14c., Modern French plaie), from Late Latin plaga "affliction; slaughter, destruction," used in Vulgate for "pestilence," from Latin plaga
    panegyric
    "eulogy, laudation, praise bestowed upon some person, action, or character," c. 1600, from French panégyrique (1510s), from Latin panegyricus "public eulogy," originally an adjective, "for a public festival," from Greek panēgyrikos (logos) "(a speech) given in or addressed to a p
    hysteria
    nervous disease, 1801, coined in medical Latin as an abstract noun from Greek hystera "womb," from PIE *udtero-, variant of *udero- "abdomen, womb, stomach" (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the
    cripple
    Old English crypel, "one who creeps, halts, or limps, one partly or wholly deprived of the use of one or more limbs," related to cryppan "to crook, bend," from Proto-Germanic *krupilaz (source also of Old Frisian kreppel, Middle Dutch cropel, German krüppel, Old Norse kryppill).
    commodity
    early 15c., "benefit, profit, welfare;" also "a convenient or useful product," from Old French commodit "benefit, profit" (15c.) and directly from Latin commoditatem (nominative commoditas) "fitness, adaptation, convenience, advantage," from commodus "proper, fit, appropriate, co

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