Rhinorrhea
/ˌraɪ.nəˈriː.ə/noun
Excessive discharge of watery mucus from the nose.
Did you know?The “-rrhea” in rhinorrhea comes from Greek rhein, “to flow,” the same root behind diarrhea, catarrh, and rheumatism.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sreu-
“To flow or stream; the reconstructed root behind later Greek flow-words.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥίς (rhīs), ῥινός (rhinós)
“Nose; the source of the rhin- element.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥέειν (rhé ein)
“To flow; the verbal root behind the -rrhea element.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥινόρροια (rhinórrhoia)
“A flowing or discharge from the nose; formed from “nose” and “flow.””
Late Latin / New Latin
Medical Latin
rhinorrhoea
“Nasal discharge; the medical term adopted from Greek components.”
19th Century
English
rhinorrhea
“Excessive nasal discharge, with the American spelling using -ea rather than British -a.”
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