Etymograph

English

phthisic

Phthisic comes from Middle English tisike ‘phthisis, phthisic’, from Latin phthisicus ‘suffering from tuberculosis’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- ‘to burn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰegʷʰ-1‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰgʷʰéyti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰgʷʰey-1‘to perish’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰgʷʰéytis1‘perishing, decrease’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷʰtʰítis1reconstructed
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφθίσις2‘wasting away’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφθισικός3phthisikós‘consumptive’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphthisicus3‘suffering from tuberculosis’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tisike3‘phthisis, phthisic’
  10. Englishtodayphthisic3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φθίσις
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φθισικός
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English phthisic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰegʷʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φθίσις‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰgʷʰéytiWiktionary, Ancient Greek φθίσιςreconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰgʷʰey-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φθίσις‘to perish’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰgʷʰéytisWiktionary, Ancient Greek φθίσις‘perishing, decrease’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷʰtʰítisWiktionary, Ancient Greek φθίσιςreconstructed
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφθίσιςWiktionary, Ancient Greek φθισικός‘wasting away’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφθισικόςWiktionary, English phthisicphthisikós‘consumptive’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphthisicusWiktionary, English phthisic‘suffering from tuberculosis’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tisikeWiktionary, English phthisic‘phthisis, phthisic’
  10. EnglishtodayphthisicWiktionary, English phthisic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- ‘to burn’

day, dear, dawn, fever, darling, daw, febrile, foment, 19 more

Today it means

noun A wasting illness of the lungs, such as asthma or tuberculosis; consumption; phthisis.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “phthisic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek φθίσις, Ancient Greek φθισικός. 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 *dʰegʷʰ- / phthisic

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