diarrhœa

noun

Dated spelling of diarrhoea.

OriginMiddle French diarrie ← Late Latin diarrhoea ← Ancient Greek διάρροια →
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Meanings

noundiarrhœa (countable and uncountable, plural diarrhœas or diarrhœæ)

plural diarrhœas · plural diarrhœæ

  1. countableuncountableDated spelling of diarrhoea.

    Stool. Crawling and constriction in rectum. Stool large and hard (Bry); whitish, watery, sour. Prolapse ani, and burning, stinging hæmorrhoids. Diarrhœa of undigested, food, fetid, with ravenous appetite. Children’s diarrhœa. Constipation; stool at first hard, then pasty, then liquid.

    2005, Edward Shalts, The American Institute of Homeopathy Handbook for Parents, page 326

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekδιάρροια“through-flowing”
  2. Late Latindiarrhoea
  3. Middle Frenchdiarrie
  4. Englishdiarrhœa

From Middle French diarrie (French diarrhée), from Late Latin diarrhoea, from Ancient Greek διάρροια (diárrhoia, “through-flowing”), from διά (diá, “through”) + ῥέω (rhéō, “flow”). Spelling later altered to resemble the word's Latin and Greek roots.

More words from Middle French, Late Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

diarrhœa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diarrh%C5%93a

MLA

“diarrhœa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diarrh%C5%93a. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “diarrhœa,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diarrh%C5%93a.

Source: diarrhœa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.