English

Noun

phthisis ‎(plural phthises)

1. (archaic) An atrophy of the body or part of the body, especially pulmonary tuberculosis.
   • 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:

     Tired from his journey and his chronic lung weakness, which he had saved from turning to phthisis by winter sojourns in Egypt, he was yet goodhumoured enough when his deputy reported the arrival of a gang of Jews who wanted judgment on something or someone.

   • c.1830-40's, Edgar Allan Poe, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar:Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe:

     For some months to my becoming acquainted with him, his physicians had declared him in a confirmed phthisis. It was his custom, indeed, to speak calmly of his approaching dissolution, as a matter neither to be avoided nor regretted.

Translations

Related terms

• phthisic

Latin

Alternative forms

• pthisis

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek φθῐ́σῐς ‎(phthísis).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpʰtʰi.sis/, [ˈpʰtʰɪ.sɪs]

Noun

phthisis f ‎(genitive phthisis); third declension

1. consumption, phthisis, tuberculosis
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Aulus Cornelius Celsus to this entry?)
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Declension

Third declension i-stem.

Synonyms

• (consumption, phthisis, tuberculosis): phthoē

Related terms

• phthisicus

Derived terms

• phthisicō

Descendants

• English: phthisis
• Italian: tisi

References

• phthĭsis in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• phthisis in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “phthĭsis”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette, page 1,177/3.
• “p(h)thisis” on page 1,376/2 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)