Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Laryngitis
/ˌlærɪnˈdʒaɪtɪs/noun
Inflammation of the larynx, usually producing hoarseness or loss of voice.
The Greek roots
λάρυγξ
lárynx
upper windpipe, voice box
-ῖτις
-îtis
inflammation of
Literally: “voice-box inflammation”
The story of the word
Greek physicians already separated the λάρυγξ from the φάρυγξ just above it, a distinction English keeps and English spelling makes almost impossible to remember. The pairing of a rhyming pharynx and larynx is old enough that neither name can be explained by the other. What actually goes hoarse is the pair of vocal folds inside, which swell and stop meeting cleanly, so the voice drops out rather than merely roughening.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → modern Latin → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
larynxpharynxlaryngoscopenephritis
In a sentence
Two nights of shouting over a PA system and she had laryngitis for a week.
Rest the voice completely; whispering strains a laryngitis worse than speaking.