Humma
/ˈhʊmə/noun
An archaic or technical term for a fever, especially one associated with malaria.
Did you know?Humma comes from Arabic ḥummā, a fever-related noun connected with the Semitic root Ḥ-M-M, meaning heat or intense warmth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḥ-m-m
“To be hot, warm, or intensely heated”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ḥummā
“Fever; a state of bodily heat”
Medieval Arabic Medicine
Arabic
al-ḥummā
“Fever as a medical condition, classified and described by physicians”
Medieval Latin
Latin
humma
“Fever, borrowed from Arabic medical terminology”
17th Century
English
humma
“A fever, particularly a malarial or intermittent fever”
Modern English
English
humma
“An obsolete or specialized term for fever”