anemia
Meaning
a medical condition in which there are too few red blood cells or too little hemoglobin in the blood, causing pallor and weakness.
Structure
Usage
the patient's fatigue was attributed to severe iron-deficiency anemia.
sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder affecting the shape of red blood cells.
a simple blood test can diagnose various forms of anemia.
Etymology
the word anemia is a modern medical term formed from ancient greek components. it directly combines the privative prefix 'an-', meaning "without" or "lack of", with the combining form '-emia', derived from the greek noun 'haima' (blood). the greek 'haima' itself has a deep indo-european ancestry, likely from the pie root sai- meaning "thick liquid". thus, the term's literal construction, "lack of blood", logically evolved into the specific modern medical definition denoting a deficiency in the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, characterized by a shortage of red blood cells or hemoglobin.
Analysis
an- (from greek, a prefix meaning "without" or "not"); -emia (from greek 'haima', meaning "blood", a combining form denoting a condition of the blood)