RHEUMY

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

RHEUMY

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:16 am

• rheumy •

Pronunciation: ru-mee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Having a runny nose and/or runny eyes.

Notes: Well, it is still that season in North America when we meet people with rheumy eyes and noses. If you would like to impress them with your vocabulary, refer to their noses as rheumy rather than runny. It also avoids that silly answer to the question, "Is your nose running?" Rheum is the watery discharge from the nose and eyes and is not as thick as mucus, which you have to blow out. Rheum gets out on its own. I suppose someone could sniff rheumily and even speak of their rheuminess.

In Play: Rheuminess is the cause of the sniffles rather than a full-blown (so to speak) head cold: "The Alaskan cruise was beautiful but we all returned home a bit run-down and rheumy." We might even expand the range of situations we describe with today's Good Word: "Our cruise liner was roomy but rheumy: half the crew and passengers were sniffling the entire trip."

Word History: The family history of this word is so fascinating we can only skim the surface here. It comes from Greek rheuma "flowing, stream" from rhein "to flow". This word comes from an earlier word with an initial S (sreu- "flow"). Early Indo-European languages didn't like the combination SR and most eliminated it. Greek dropped the S while English added a T, leading to today's stream. Evidence of the Greek word pervades English vocabulary. That is it referring to flows in diarrhea and logorrhea. It also seems to have promoted the Greek word for nose, as in the name of the animal with the nose-horn, the rhinoceros. (We thank Dr. Margie Sved for suggesting today's Good Word, with our best wishes that she successfully avoids any rheuminess this season.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Re: RHEUMY

Postby Stargzer » Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:16 am

...Word History: The family history of this word is so fascinating we can only skim the surface here. It comes from Greek rheuma "flowing, stream" from rhein "to flow". ..
Is this the source of German Rhein / English Rhine, as in the Rhine River? Flowing River? Systranet translate flow, to flow as Fluß, fließen and running water, flowing water as laufendes Wasser, flüssige Wasser.

Systranet can't translate "runny" and "rheumy" as in "runny nose," but "nose" translates as "Nase."

There is a prescription drug, Fluticasone, a potent synthetic corticosteroid often prescribed as treatment for asthma and allergic rhinitis. In the US, it is marketed for asthma as Flovent, and allergic rhinitis as Flonase, by GlaxoSmithKline. (Wikipedia)
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Cacasenno
Lexiterian
Posts: 192
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: Italy

Postby Cacasenno » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:01 pm

We (if you don't mind the plural :) ) also have rheumatism from rheuma- flow, watery discharge from the body (formerly thought to cause aches and pains).



Mal comune mezzo gaudio

sluggo
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
Location: Carolinia Agrestícia: The Forest Primeval

Postby sluggo » Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:19 am

Ah. Much is revealed-
"In the White Rheum, with black kerchiefs nearby stationed..."
All the world is red and teary, everywhere eye-rheum...

Some of the more subtler manifestations:

When the condition is not bad enough to affect everyday activity, it's called Breathing Rheum. And if the eyesight is unaffected, it's Rheum-with-a-view.

You wanna stay away from the Green Rheum though, unless you really are with the band
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!

Bailey
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2114
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:51 pm

Postby Bailey » Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:04 pm

I take it that Large eyes are not rheumy eyes?

mB.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb









Perry
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2306
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:50 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Postby Perry » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:10 am

Flonase. What a name. The last thing I want is for my nose to flow!
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous

skinem
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1197
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:33 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Postby skinem » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:41 pm

Ah. Much is revealed-
"In the White Rheum, with black kerchiefs nearby stationed..."
All the world is red and teary, everywhere eye-rheum...

You wanna stay away from the Green Rheum though, unless you really are with the band
:D :D :D


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 39 guests