Humma
/ˈhʊm.ə/noun
A fever, especially in Arabic and traditional medical terminology.
Did you know?Arabic ḥummā belongs to the same heat-centered root that produced hammam, the traditional hot bathhouse.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḥ-m-m
“To be hot or heated; a reconstructed Semitic root”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ḥummā
“Fever; a state of bodily heat”
Medieval Arabic Medicine
Arabic
ḥummā
“Fever, used as a medical term in Arabic medical writing”
19th Century
English
humma
“Fever; an English borrowing from Arabic”
Modern English
English
humma
“A fever, chiefly encountered in historical, medical, or Arabic-related contexts”