-rrhea

DEFINITION of -rrhea

forms nouns: rhe--a - profuse discharge, excessive secretion

---

ETYMOLOGY of -rrhea

greek

Component	Origin	Meaning
rhe- / rhoeo-	Greek ῥεῖν (rhein), from ῥοία (rhoea)	“profuse discharge,” “excessive secretion,” “a flowing, a stream” — Noun-forming compound suffix — “condition of profuse discharge or secretion of (a fluid or substance)”

The word entered English in the 1540s as diarrhea (noun), borrowed from Middle French diarrhée, from Late Latin diarrhea, from Greek διάρροια (diarroia) — literally “a flowing through” (dia- “through” + rrhea “a discharge”). The suffix form -rrhea in medical compounds appeared in the 1800s. The root rhein (“to flow”) connects -rrhea to the entire flow and discharge suffixes: diarrhea (dia- + rrhea $\to$ flowing through / profuse intestinal discharge), galactorrhea (galacto- + rrhea $\to$ profuse milk secretion), and rhinorrhea (rhino- + rrhea $\to$ profuse nasal discharge). The compound suffix -rrhea is extremely productive across all medical specialties: e.g., menorrhea, polyrrhea, sialorrhea, urinorrhea, and otorrhea.

---

RELATED TERMS to -rrhea

-rrhea	profuse discharge	excessive secretion	-
-rrhagia	YES	-	hemorrhage

---

DERIVATIONS of -rrhea

TABLE definition AS Definition 
WHERE length(filter(roots, (word) => econtains([[]].roots, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name
SORT file.name ASC

---

Query

TABLE definition AS Definition
FROM #medroot
WHERE length(filter(definition, (word) => econtains([[]].definition, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name

Med terms dictionary