phthisic
/ˈ(f)θɪzɪk/
phthisic noun: a wasting illness of the lungs, such as asthma or tuberculosis; consumption; phthisis.
Noun
phthisic (countable and uncountable, plural phthisics)
- A wasting illness of the lungs, such as asthma or tuberculosis; consumption; phthisis.
- Any wasting disease.
- A person suffering from phthisis.
- Any wasting or shrinking of another body part such as, for example, the eye (phthisis bulbi).
Adjective
phthisic (not comparable)
- Of or relating to phthisis or tuberculosis; tubercular; consumptive.
Forms of phthisic
| plural | phthisics |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | phthisick |
| alternative form (obsolete) | tisick |
| alternative form (dated) | phthisique |
| alternative form (dated) | tisic |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | tizzic |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | tizzick |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | tissick |
Origin of phthisic
From Middle English tisike, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin phthisicus (“suffering from tuberculosis”), from Ancient Greek φθισικός (phthisikós, “consumptive”), from φθίσις (phthísis, “tuberculosis, consumption”).
Words formed from phthisic
Words that rhyme with phthisic
Questions about phthisic
- What does phthisic mean?
- Phthisic means a wasting illness of the lungs, such as asthma or tuberculosis; consumption; phthisis.
- What part of speech is phthisic?
- Phthisic can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce phthisic?
- Phthisic is pronounced /ˈ(f)θɪzɪk/.
- What is the plural of phthisic?
- The plural of phthisic is phthisics.
Words near phthisic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: phthisic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “phthisic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phthisic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.