Rheumatisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of disorders characterized by inflammation and pain in the muscles and joints, impacting mobility and daily activities
2. A group of conditions associated with swelling, stiffness, and discomfort in various body parts, particularly affecting joints and connective tissues
3. A set of ailments often involving painful inflammation, affecting not only joints but also muscles, tendons, and ligaments, leading to reduced physical function

Etymology: "Rheumatisms" is the plural of "rheumatism," and it is the form used when someone speaks of several distinct joint or muscle complaints at once. The plural adds no new idea; it simply counts the afflictions. The underlying idea is older than the disease name. In ancient Greek, "rheuma" meant "stream" or "flow," from "rhein," to flow, and physicians applied it to the humours or discharges they believed ran through the body and caused illness. The verb "rheumatizesthai" meant to suffer from such a flow, so a sickness was understood as something that dripped or seeped into the limbs. English took the term in 1601 through Latin "rheumatismus," which carried that Greek sense of a bodily discharge. Only later did "rheumatism" narrow to pain in the joints and muscles, a meaning the flowing humours never originally named.

Synonyms: arthritis, inflammation, joint pain