asthma
- 1A long-term condition in which the airways narrow suddenly and unexpectedly, often triggered by allergens, cold air, exercise, or stress, causing wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing.
Like a doorway that narrows without warning, so air struggles to pass in and out of the lungs.
The child's asthma flared up during pollen season, leaving her gasping for air.
Many factory workers developed asthma after years of breathing in chemical fumes.
Note
A medical term that came back to its Greek spelling: English first borrowed it as asma or asme, from Greek âsthma, "laborious breathing," and the -th- was restored in the 16th century to match the Greek. It is usually uncountable and personal. Someone has asthma, suffers from asthma, or, like Piggy in William Golding's Lord of the Flies (1954), speaks of "my asthma." Plurals exist, asthmas and the Greek-style asthmata, but are seldom needed.
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Origin
This word comes from Middle English asma or asme, from Medieval Latin asthma, which came from Ancient Greek âsthma meaning 'laborious breathing, asthma'. The '-th-' was added to the spelling in the 16th century to match the Greek roots.