diarrhea

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An illness in which a person passes very soft or watery waste from the bowels frequently.

   Diarrhea has many possible causes, including infection and bad food.

From Middle English diaria, from Middle French diarrie (French diarrhée), from Late Latin diarrhoea, from Ancient Greek διάρροια (diárrhoia, “through-flowing”), from διά (diá, “through”) + ῥέω (rhéō, “flow”). By surface analysis, dia- + -rrhea. Spelling later altered to resemble the word's Latin and Greek roots. Displaced native Old English ūtsiht (literally “straining out”).

Topics