Rheumatic
/ruːˈmætɪk/noun
Relating to or affected by rheumatism, especially pain and inflammation in the joints or connective tissues.
Did you know?Rheumatic ultimately comes from Greek rhēuma, meaning “that which flows,” because early medicine imagined painful illnesses as harmful bodily fluids moving through you.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥεῦμα (rheûma)
“a flow, stream, or bodily discharge”
Late Greek
Greek
ῥευματικός (rheumatikós)
“pertaining to a flow or discharge”
Late Latin
Latin
rheumaticus
“pertaining to rheumatism or catarrhal afflictions”
Middle French
French
reumatique
“rheumatic; suffering from rheumatism”
14th–15th Century
English
rheumatick
“relating to rheumatism”