noun ·Moderate ·High school level
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"...but rheumatism is a vulgar complaint, and would sink even a ducal coronet—the very lowest people have it. I question if there is a workhouse in Great Britain exempt from it. Neither is there one free from asthma, and yet all the world knows a royal duke suffers from it as much as a coalheaver might do;..."
"No, I'm not suffering from asthma. I'm moaning in lust!"
A long-term respiratory condition, in which the airways may unexpectedly and suddenly narrow, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.
Common synonyms include: bronchial asthma, abscess, acute bronchitis, adenoiditis, ague, allergen.
No, I'm not suffering from asthma. I'm moaning in lust!
Pronounced /ˈasmə/.
From Middle English asma, asme, from Medieval Latin asthma, asma, from Ancient Greek ἆσθμα (âsthma, “laborious breathing, asthma”). The spelling was changed to add -th- in the 16th century to match the Greek etymological roots.