Etymology

pyorrhea

P3Y4O1R1R1H4E1A1

Today it means: An inflammation of the gums in which the teeth become loose; chronic periodontitis. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ῥοία (rhoía) ← Proto-Hellenic *hréwō ← Proto-Indo-European *sréweti
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekπύον (púon)
  2. Englishpyo-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ser-?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*srew-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*sréweti
  6. Proto-Hellenic*hréwō
  7. Ancient Greekῥέω (rhéō)
  8. Ancient Greekῥοία (rhoía)
  9. English todaypyorrhea

From pyo- (“pus”) + -rrhea (“flow”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.