rheumatism
7
6.2
- noun
- /ˈruːməˌtɪzəm/
- Specialized
:
reumatismo
- He's laid up with rheumatism something terrible.
- suffer from rheumatism
- arthritis or rheumatism
Examples
-
The whole regiment moved like so many old men with rheumatism.
Fiction book (1992) -
You help her with her rheumatism.
-
- He complained of rheumatism.
-
I've had a feeling of rheumatism in my leg all evening.
-
In addition, 23 percent had arthritis, 23 percent had rheumatism, and 16 percent had previously fractured hips.
Academic text (1997) -
Your rheumatism bothering you?
-
- How's your rheumatism?
-
How's the rheumatism?
-
He has inflammatory rheumatism and that's the kind of rheumatism that's dreadful.
-
My sister-in-law had terrible attacks of rheumatism in her legs and back.
Synonyms
86
3.5
A condition that causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints
Pain or illness that affects the joints and muscles, often in older people
Antonyms
Compounds
A North American plant with pink flowers used in traditional medicine for joint pain and to make rope
Surface Forms
Morphology
rheumatism = rheumat + ism
Formed from the medical combining form 'rheumat-' (not a standalone English word) plus the noun-forming suffix '-ism', so an average learner cannot reliably infer the medical meaning from its parts.
Etymology
The word rheumatism comes from the old Greek word rheuma, which means 'flow'. Ancient doctors thought joint pain was caused by bad 'flows' or fluids in the body, so rheumatism now names the condition of pain and stiffness in the joints and muscles.