English
asthmatic
Asthmatic comes from Ancient Greek ἆσθμα ‘short-drawn breath, panting’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-1‘to breathe’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἆσθμα2âsthma‘short-drawn breath, panting’
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEᾱ̓σθματικός2āsthmatikós
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāsthmaticus2
- Englishearliest quotation 1917asthmatic2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἆσθμα, which cites Beekes, Chantraine
- 2 Wiktionary, English asthmatic
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1917, Anton Chekhov, The Darling and Other Stories: “The mother, Ekaterina Pavlovna, who at one time had…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἆσθμα, which cites Beekes, Chantraine‘to breathe’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἆσθμαWiktionary, English asthmaticâsthma‘short-drawn breath, panting’
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEᾱ̓σθματικόςWiktionary, English asthmaticāsthmatikós
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāsthmaticusWiktionary, English asthmatic
- Englishearliest quotation 1917asthmaticWiktionary, English asthmatic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1917, Anton Chekhov, The Darling and Other Stories: “The mother, Ekaterina Pavlovna, who at one time had…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘to breathe’
and, animal, anime, unanimous, inhale, animosity, animate, animus, animator, anima, anemone, prana, exhalation, onde, 18 more
Today it means
adj Having the characteristics of asthma.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “asthmatic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ἆσθμα. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- / asthmatic