ἆσθμα

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally taken from an earlier *ἄνσθμα (*ánsthma), potentially a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”) with an extension of unclear origin, followed by the suffix -μα (-ma) (from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥). Compare ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”). However, Beekes is skeptical, as the Greek does not show the expected initial of *ἀνε- (*ane-), and prefers to take the word as an ad-hoc onomatopoeic formation + a suffix -θμα (-thma) also found in ἴθμα (íthma) (though Chantraine suspects that the -σ- (-s-) replaces the *-ε- (*-e-) in *ἀνε- (*ane-) for euphonic reasons).^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /âːstʰ.ma/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈastʰ.ma/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈasθ.ma/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈasθ.ma/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈasθ.ma/

Noun

ἆσθμᾰ • (âsthmă) n (genitive ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτος); third declension

short-drawn breath, panting
(medicine) asthma

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ ἆσθμᾰ; τοῦ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἆσθμᾰ tò âsthmă	τὼ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτε tṑ ā́sthmăte	τᾰ̀ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτᾰ tằ ā́sthmătă
Genitive	τοῦ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτος toû ā́sthmătos	τοῖν ᾱ̓σθμᾰ́τοιν toîn āsthmắtoin	τῶν ᾱ̓σθμᾰ́των tôn āsthmắtōn
Dative	τῷ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτῐ tōî ā́sthmătĭ	τοῖν ᾱ̓σθμᾰ́τοιν toîn āsthmắtoin	τοῖς ᾱ̓́σθμᾰσῐ / ᾱ̓́σθμᾰσῐν toîs ā́sthmăsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἆσθμᾰ tò âsthmă	τὼ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτε tṑ ā́sthmăte	τᾰ̀ ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτᾰ tằ ā́sthmătă
Vocative	ἆσθμᾰ âsthmă	ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτε ā́sthmăte	ᾱ̓́σθμᾰτᾰ ā́sthmătă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

ἀσθμαίνω (asthmaínō, “pant, gasp for breath”)

Descendants

Greek: άσθμα (ásthma)
→ Latin: āsthma
- Asturian: asma
- Catalan: asma
- English: asthma
  - Australian Kriol: esma
  - → Tamil: ஆஸ்துமா (āstumā)
  - Tok Pisin: asma
- French: asthme
  - → Romanian: astmă
  - → Turkish: astım
  - → Persian: آسم (âsm)
- Italian: asma
- Spanish: asma
- → Polish: astma
- → Dutch: astma
  - Afrikaans: asma
  - → Indonesian: asma
- → Hungarian: asztma

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄσθμα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 148

“ἆσθμα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἆσθμα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ἆσθμα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἆσθμα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἆσθμα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἆσθμα in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
ἆσθμα, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄσθμα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 148

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