Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Tendinitis
/ˌtɛndɪˈnaɪtɪs/noun
Inflammation of a tendon, usually from repeated strain.
The Greek roots
τένων
ténōn
sinew, tendon
-ῖτις
-îtis
inflammation of
Literally: “inflamed sinew”
The story of the word
The suffix was originally an adjective. Greek -ῖτις was feminine and agreed with νόσος, disease, so ἀρθρῖτις meant joint disease with the noun left off; English took the leftover ending and made it a free word for inflammation. The first half is Latin tendo, though that itself looks like a reshaping of Greek τένων, sinew, under the pull of tendere, to stretch. The spelling tendonitis has now overtaken the older tendinitis in general use.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Medieval Latin → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
arthritisbronchitistenosynovitis
In a sentence
Six weeks of rowing gave her tendinitis in both wrists.
Achilles tendinitis is the runner's standard complaint.