Dyspnea
/dɪsˈpniːə/noun
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
Did you know?Dyspnea comes from Greek medical language built on *dys-* (“bad, difficult”) + *pnoē* (“breathing”), the same breath-root that also gave English words tied to respiration and spirit.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
dys- + pnoē
“bad, difficult breathing”
Late Greek / Medical Greek
Greek
dyspnoia
“shortness of breath, labored breathing”
Late Latin
Latin
dyspnoea
“difficulty breathing”
16th–17th Century
English
dyspnoea
“medical term for labored breathing”
Modern English
English
dyspnea
“difficulty breathing or shortness of breath”