Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˌhaɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈfəʊ.bi.ə/ (UK); /ˌhaɪ.dɹəˈfoʊ.bi.ə/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Late Latin hydrophobia,[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ὑδροφοβία (hudrophobía),[2][3][4][5] from hudrophóbos “dreading water”,[2][3] from hudr- “water” and phóbos “fear”.[2][3][4][5] It is related to phobia.[3][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
An aversion to water and difficulty in swallowing it, as a symptom of rabies in humans (1392 as ydroforbia in Barnhart; 1547 in Merriam-Webster and the OED).[2][3][4][6]
Semantic evolution
The word was often used for rabies itself,[3][7][4][5] though an 1823 encyclopedia, quoted by Etymonline, objected that dread of water is not a reliable sign of the disease.[3] In its literal sense of a dread of water it is recorded from 1759,[6] and in chemistry for the property of repelling water from 1956.[6] Old English called the condition wæterfyrhtness.[3]
Timeline
- 1392 – ydroforbia.[2]
- 1547 – the symptom of rabies.[4][6]
- 1759 – dread of water.[6]
- 1956 – the property of being hydrophobic.[6]
Modern meaning
Noun
- Rabies.
- An abnormal fear of water; aquaphobia.
- The quality of repelling or not mixing with water.
Related words
- hydrophobe
- hydrophobic
- phobia
- hydrant
- rabies
Usage notes
Wiktionary notes that an abnormal fear of water is technically called aquaphobia, to avoid confusion with rabies.[1]
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Related etymologies
- horoscope · also from Greek
- hermaphrodite · also from Greek
- apostrophe · also from Greek
- sphinx · also from Greek
- cosmopolitan · also from Greek
- eunuch · also from Greek
- ecstasy · also from Greek
- phosphorus · also from Greek
Cite this entry
“Hydrophobia.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/hydrophobia. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·