tinnitus

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin tinnītus (“a ringing, jingling”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from tinniō (“to ring, tinkle”),^[2][3][7][8] a verb of imitative origin.^[4][7][8] Merriam-Webster Unabridged and Klein derive the noun from the past participle of the verb,^[9][10] and Dictionary.com analyses it as the verb's stem with the suffix -tus, which forms nouns of action.^[5] Klein traces the verb to an imitative base also found in tonō (“to thunder”).^[10] The same Latin verb is behind tintinnabulation.^[3] Etymonline notes that the Latin word appeared in English medical writing at various times from the early 15th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A sensation of ringing in the ears: 1843, in R. J. Graves's System of Clinical Medicine.^[2][9] The 1989 edition of the OED had a first date of 1693,^[11] and Dictionary.com gives 1685–95.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed a medical term for noise heard in the ears.^[7][12] The OED's definition names only ringing,^[2] while the Shorter Oxford adds buzzing,^[12] and modern dictionaries also list hissing, roaring or whistling sounds that have no outside source,^[9][13] caused for example by an infection of the middle or inner ear or as a side effect of some drugs.^[13]

Timeline

• 1843 – a sensation of ringing in the ears.^[2][9] The 1989 edition of the OED dated the word to 1693.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ringing, buzzing, hissing or roaring sound heard in one or both ears with no outside source, caused for example by an ear infection or as a side effect of some drugs: Years of loud concerts left him with tinnitus.^[13][9][2]

Related words

• tintinnabulation

Usage notes

Both /ˈtɪnɪtəs/, stressed on the first syllable, and /tɪˈnaɪtəs/ are used.^[2][13][9] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives first-syllable stress as the main pronunciation,^[9] while the Shorter Oxford lists the second-syllable stress first.^[12]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins