Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Otitis
/oʊˈtaɪtɪs/noun
Inflammation of the ear, specified by site as otitis externa, otitis media or otitis interna.
The Greek roots
οὖς, ὠτός
oûs, ōtós
ear
-ῖτις
-îtis
inflammation of
Literally: “ear inflammation”
The story of the word
The stem is the genitive ὠτός rather than the nominative οὖς, which is why the ear turns up in English as oto- and not ou-. The same stem hides in parotid, the gland that sits beside the ear, and in the mumps that swell it. Otitis media is the most common reason a small child is prescribed an antibiotic, and also the most common reason a child does not need one.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → medical Latin → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
otoscopeparotidotolaryngology
In a sentence
Swimmers' otitis externa clears faster once the ear is kept properly dry.