# diarrhea

Pronunciation: say "dy-uh-REE-uh" US /ˌdaɪ.əˈɹi.ə/, UK /ˌdaɪ.əˈɹiː.ə/

## Noun

1. A gastrointestinal disorder marked by frequent bowel movements that are very soft or watery.
   - Simple: A problem in the gut that makes you go to the bathroom often, with very soft or watery waste.
   - _Cholera causes severe diarrhea that can dehydrate a patient within hours._
   - _The new drug's most common side effect is mild diarrhea._
2. Watery or very soft excrement, passed when bowel movements are frequent and loose.
   - Simple: Very soft or watery waste that comes out of the body.
   - _By the time we got home, the baby's onesie was soaked with diarrhea._
   - _The nurse stripped the bed, whose sheets were stained with diarrhea._

## Origin

From Middle English diaria, from Middle French diarrie (French diarrhée), from Late Latin diarrhoea, from Ancient Greek diárrhoia ("through-flowing"), from diá ("through") + rhéō ("flow"). The spelling was later changed to look more like its Latin and Greek roots, and the word displaced native Old English ūtsiht (literally "straining out").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/diarrhea (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).