- tuberculosis
- 1860, from Mod.L., from L. tuberculum "small swelling, pimple," dim. of tuber "lump" (see tuber) + -osis, a suffix of Gk. origin. So called in ref. to the tubercules (1678) which form in the lungs. Originally in ref. to any disease characterized by tubercules; since the discovery of the tubercule bacillus by Koch (1882) restricted to disease caused by this.