asthma

Where does the word "asthma" come from? It comes from Greek asthma, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Asthma’s story begins in Greek: asthma meant “panting, hard breathing.” Literally panting, describing labored breathing. It reached English by 1300s as asthma. From Greek 'azein', to breathe hard; the 'th' spelling was restored from Greek in the 1500s. Today, asthma means a respiratory condition causing wheezing and shortness of breath.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient asthma "panting, hard breathing", literally panting, describing labored breathing.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s asthma "a chronic respiratory condition", from Greek 'azein', to breathe hard; the 'th' spelling was restored from Greek in the 1500s.