Orthopnoia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An excessive or compulsive attraction to mountains and elevated terrain
2. An unusual fondness or passionate preference for mountainous landscapes and high altitudes
3. An obsessive or morbid fascination with mountains and lofty geographical features

Etymology: "Orthopnoia" describes breathing that becomes difficult when lying flat and eases when sitting or standing upright. Patients with this symptom often sleep propped up on pillows. The word is built from two Greek elements: "orthos," meaning straight or upright, and "pnoia," meaning breathing, from "pnein," to breathe. It is a modern medical coinage made from classical parts. Ancient Greek writers did not use the compound as a clinical term. Doctors later assembled it from familiar Greek building blocks to name a specific symptom, most often linked to fluid backing up in the lungs when the heart is failing.