Etymology

alcoholism

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Today it means: A chronic disease caused by compulsive and uncontrollable consumption of alcoholic beverages, leading to addiction and deterioration in health and social functioning. Full definition →

English alcohol ← Middle English alcofol ← Medieval Latin alcoho
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The story

  1. Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)
  2. Aramaicכוחלא (kuḥlā)
  3. Arabicكُحْل (kuḥl)
  4. Andalusian Arabicكُحُول (kuḥūl)
  5. Medieval Latinalcoho
  6. Middle Englishalcofol
  7. Englishalcohol
  8. English todayalcoholism

From alcohol + -ism. Derived from New Latin alcoholismus chronicus, coined by the Swedish professor of medicine Magnus Huss in 1849.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.