Aquatherapy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The therapeutic use of water for healing and rehabilitation
2. A form of physical therapy conducted in water to aid recovery and improve health
3. The practice of utilizing water's properties to enhance physical and mental well-being

Etymology: Aquatherapy is a modern compound, not an ancient one, and its parts are easy to see. "Aqua" is Latin for "water," and "therapy" comes from Greek "therapeia," meaning "healing" or "medical care," through Latin and then French. Putting the two together produces a term for treatment carried out in water, and the word's form tells you what it means before you look it up. The term is a 20th-century coinage built from those classical roots, following the same pattern as earlier formations such as "hydrotherapy." The Latin element "aqua" has long been used in English for water-related terms, so "aquatherapy" fits a familiar pattern of combining Latin and Greek parts to name a new medical or wellness practice.