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rheum

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rheum

[room]
–noun
1. a thin discharge of the mucous membranes, esp. during a cold.
2. catarrh; cold.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME reume < LL rheuma < Gk rheûma (rheu-, var. s. of rheîn to flow, stream + -ma n. suffix of result)


rheumic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rheum   (rōōm)   
n.  A watery or thin mucous discharge from the eyes or nose.

[Middle English reume, from Old French, from Late Latin rheuma, from Greek, a flowing, rheum; see sreu- in Indo-European roots.]
rheum'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rheum 
1377, from O.Fr. reume (13c.), from L. rheuma, from Gk. rheuma "stream, current, a flowing," from rhein "to flow," from PIE base *sreu- "to flow" (cf. Skt. sravati "flows," srotah "stream;" Avestan thraotah- "stream, river," O.Pers. rauta "river;" Gk. rheos "a flowing, stream;" O.Ir. sruaim, Ir. sruth "stream, river;" Welsh ffrwd "stream;" O.N. straumr, O.E. stream, O.H.G. strom (second element in maelstrom); Lett. strauma "stream, river;" Lith. sraveti "to trickle, ooze;" O.C.S. struja "river," o-strovu "island," lit. "that which is surrounded by a river;" Pol. strumyk "brook").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: rheum
Pronunciation: 'rüm
Function: noun
: a watery discharge from the mucous membranes especially of the eyes or nose; also : a condition (as a cold) marked by such discharge —rheumy /-E/ adjective

Main Entry: Rhe·um
Pronunciation: 'rE-&m
Function: noun
: a genus of Asian herbs (family Polygonaceae) that have large leaves, loose stipularsheaths, small flowers in paniculate racemes, and a 3-winged fruit and that include the rhubarbs (as the Chinese rhubarb, R. officinale, and rhapontic, R. rhaponticum)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

rheum (r&oomacr;m)
n.
A watery or thin mucous discharge from the eyes or nose.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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