κατάρροος

Forms

κᾰτᾰ́ρροος (katárrhoos) m or f (neuter κᾰτᾰ́ρροον); second declension^[1] Attic contracted κατάρρους (katárrhous).^[2][1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek καταρρέω (katarrhéō, “to flow down”), with the suffix -ος (-os).^[1][3][4] The verb is made of κατά (katá, “down”) and ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Hippocratic writings, in the plural, for catarrhs.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

As a medical word the noun meant a flow of humour running down from the head.^[2][1] Plato uses it in the Republic and the Cratylus, in the Cratylus also figuratively.^[2][6] Galen distinguishes it from κόρυζα (kórūza, “a running at the nose”).^[2] The adjective, “flowing down”, is late: Philostratus uses it of the Nile and of an island full of streams.^[2]

Latin borrowed the noun as Latin catarrhus, and through Medieval Latin it reached English as catarrh in the late 14th century; it passed also into French, Italian, Spanish and German.^[5][1] Medieval vernacular Greek used the adjective κατάρρους (katárrous) of a river rushing down.^[7] Modern Greek has the learned medical word Modern Greek κατάρρους (katárrous), mainly in the term for a head cold.^[8]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic Aphorisms use it in the plural for catarrhs.^[2][6][9]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it in the Republic, and figuratively in the Cratylus.^[2][9]
• 2nd century AD – Galen distinguishes it from a running at the nose.^[2][9]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Philostratus uses the adjective of the Nile, and of an island full of streams.^[2][9]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use κατάρρους (katárrous) of a river that rushes down.^[7]
• Late 14th century – English borrows catarrh through Medieval Latin.^[5]
• Modern Greek – κατάρρους (katárrous) is a learned medical term, mainly for a head cold.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Flowing down.^[2][1]
2. Full of streams.^[2][1]

Noun

1. (medicine) A catarrh, a flow of humour running down from the head.^[2][1][10]
2. (figurative) A flux, in Plato.^[2]

Related words

• καταρρέω (katarrhéō)
• ῥέω (rhéō)
• Latin catarrhus
• English catarrh

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli