Bursitises

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An inflammation of a bursa, often resulting in pain and swelling
2. A condition characterized by the irritation of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion joints
3. A medical issue typically caused by repetitive movements or excess pressure on joints

Etymology: "Bursitises" is the plural of "bursitis," so it names more than one case of inflammation. The noun it is built from, "bursa," is Latin for a purse or pouch, borrowed into English for the small fluid-filled sacs that cushion joints and tendons where bone rubs against muscle or skin. The ending does the medical work. "-itis" comes from Ancient Greek "-ῖτις" (-îtis), a suffix that formed names for inflammation, and it was taken into New Latin, the Latinized scientific language of early modern medicine, before reaching English as "-itis." Greek speakers would have used the suffix with words for bodily parts, so "-itis" carries the sense of "inflamed" that "bursitis" needs. The compound itself is a modern medical coinage: "bursa" plus "-itis," so "bursitis" means inflammation of a bursa. Ancient physicians knew nothing of bursae as named structures, so the word belongs to later anatomy rather than classical medicine.

Synonyms: inflammations of bursa, bursa inflammations