phthisic

[tiz-ik, thiz-]Pathology

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR phthisic ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a wasting disease of the lungs; phthisis.

asthma.

a person who suffers from phthisis.

adjective

pertaining to phthisis; phthisical.

Origin of phthisic

1300–50; < Latin phthisicus < Greek phthisikós (see phthisis, -ic); replacing Middle English tisike < Medieval Latin (p)tisicus; Latin, as above

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for phthisic

consumptive, phthisic, phthisical, tuberculate, tuberculous

Examples from the Web for phthisic

Historical Examples of phthisic

Yes, there's considerable of ager and phthisic and bilious fever.
Hoosier Mosaics
Maurice Thompson
They call it phthisic only because thats the very hardest word in the book to spell.
The Last of the Flatboats
George Cary Eggleston
She put it on her knee, and played a tune that would have made gout, cholic and phthisic dance upon their last legs.
Peg Woffington
Charles Reade
Then Dilsie could sleep in the cabin, as she ought to on account of the jimsonweed in her phthisic pipe.
The Tinder-Box
Maria Thompson Daviess

British Dictionary definitions for phthisic

phthisic

adjective

relating to or affected with phthisis

noun

another name for asthma

Derived Formsphthisical, adjective

Word Origin for phthisic

C14: from Old French tisike, from Latin phthisicus, from Greek phthisikos; see phthisis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for phthisic

adj.

late 14c., tysyk "of or pertaining to a wasting disease," from Old French tisike, phtisique "consumptive" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *phthisicus, from Greek phthisikos "consumptive," from phthisis "wasting, consumption" (see phthisis). Earlier in English as a noun meaning "wasting disease of the lungs" (mid-14c.). Related: Phthisical.

The old pronunciation dropped the ph-, but this will probably recover its sound now that everyone can read.