rachitis

rach·i·tis
R1A1C3H4I1T1I1S1
UK/ɹəˈkaɪtɪs/UK/ɹæ-/US[-ɾɪs]

noun

Rickets.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

nounrachitis (uncountable)
  1. uncountablemedicineRickets.

    Synonyms: rachitism

  2. uncountablebiologyA disease that produces abortion in the flower, seed, or fruit.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounRickets.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounchildhood disease caused by deficiency of vitamin D and sunlight associated with impaired metabolism of calcium and phosphorus

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Pre-Greek
  2. Ancient Greekῥάχῐς“lower part of the back; (anatomy) backbone, spine”
  3. Koine Greekῥαχῖτις
  4. New Latinrachitis
  5. Englishrachitis

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin rachitis, used by the British physician Francis Glisson (1597–1677) to refer to rickets, from Koine Greek ῥαχῖτις (rhakhîtis) (in ῥαχῖτις νόσος (rhakhîtis nósos, “spinal inflammation”, literally “spinal disease”)), the feminine form of ῥαχίτης (rhakhítēs, “in or of the spine, spinal”), from Ancient Greek ῥάχῐς (rhákhĭs, “lower part of the back; (anatomy) backbone, spine”) (probably ultimately Pre-Greek) + -ῖτις (-îtis) (feminine form of -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming nouns with the sense ‘one connected to’)). By surface analysis, rach- + -itis.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with rachitis

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Cite this entry
APA

rachitis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rachitis

MLA

“rachitis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rachitis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rachitis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rachitis.

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