phthisic

American  

[tiz-ik, thiz-] / ˈtɪz ɪk, ˈθɪz- /

noun

1. a wasting disease of the lungs; phthisis.

2. asthma.

3. a person with phthisis.

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adjective

1. pertaining to phthisis; phthisical.

phthisic British  

/ ˈθaɪsɪk, ˈtaɪsɪk, ˈfθaɪsɪk /

adjective

1. relating to or affected with phthisis

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noun

1. another name for asthma

Other Word Forms

• phthisical adjective

Etymology

Origin of phthisic

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tisik(e), ptisik(e), from Old French tisique, thesique “consumptive,” from Medieval Latin ptisicus, tisicus, from Latin phthisicus “consumptive; a consumptive” (adejctive and noun), from Greek phthisikós “consumptive” (adjective); see origin at phthisis, -ic

Example Sentences

Volutes, asportation, imbricated, Mnemosyne and phthisic are a few of the others.

From Washington Post • Sep. 10, 2015

In special hospitals, orthop�dic, paraplegic, phthisic, neurasthenic, we shall give him back functional ability, solidity of nerve or lung.

From Another Sheaf by Galsworthy, John

The boatman smiles, Princess Volupine extends A meagre, blue-nailed, phthisic hand To climb the waterstair.

From Poems by Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns)

I suppose, poor half-starved phthisic lad, that he was the most miserable of us all.

From Father and Son: a study of two temperaments by Gosse, Edmund

Then Dilsie could sleep in the cabin, as she ought to on account of the jimsonweed in her phthisic pipe.

From The Tinder-Box by Daviess, Maria Thompson