Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Dysarthria
/dɪsˈɑrθriə/noun
Slurred or laboured speech caused by weakness or poor coordination of the muscles that produce it.
The Greek roots
δυσ-
dys-
bad, difficult
ἄρθρον
árthron
joint
Literally: “badly jointed speech”
The story of the word
ἄρθρον is a joint, and the verb built on it meant to fit parts together, hence to utter sounds in distinct pieces. Articulate speech is jointed speech, and dysarthria is what happens when the joints stop working. It sits apart from aphasia, where the muscles are fine and the language itself is damaged; the same ἄρθρον gives arthritis and, in grammar, the article.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
arthritisarthropoddyslexiadyspepsia
In a sentence
The dysarthria was the first sign anyone noticed, months before the diagnosis.
Speech therapy slowed the dysarthria without stopping it.