Rheumatical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Connected to medical conditions that cause inflammation in the joints and surrounding tissues
2. Pertaining to disorders that result in pain and stiffness in the muscles, joints, and connective tissues due to inflammatory responses
3. Relating to ailments characterized by discomfort or swelling in the joints and associated structures affecting mobility and function

Etymology: The idea behind this word is the ancient belief that disease was caused by fluids flowing wrongly through the body. In ancient Greek, "rheuma" meant "stream" or "flow," from the verb "rhein," to flow. Physicians applied the adjective "rheumatikos" to conditions thought to come from a harmful flux of humours, and the word passed through Latin and Old French into Middle English as "reumatic." Its sense of joint pain is a narrowing of that broader idea of a morbid discharge or catarrh. "Rheumatical" is a longer variant of "rheumatic," formed by adding the suffix "-al," which was commonly attached to adjectives in English. Both forms have the same meaning and the same ancestry. The root "rheuma" also gave English the noun "rheum," still used for the watery discharge from the eyes or nose.

Synonyms: arthritic, inflammatory