"morbid frequent evacuation of the bowels," late 14c., diaria, from Old French diarrie, from Late Latin diarrhoea, from Greek diarrhoia "diarrhea" (coined by Hippocrates), literally "a flowing through," from diarrhein "to flow through," from dia- "through" (see dia-) + rhein "to flow" (from PIE root *sreu- "to flow"). Respelled 16c. from diarria on Latin model.

"pertaining to or resulting from diarrhea," 1650s, from diarrhea + -etic. Related: Diarrhetical.

variant spelling of diarrhea (q.v.); see also oe.

also diarrhoeal, "pertaining to or resulting from diarrhea," 1650s, from diarrhea + -al (1).

1878, from logo- "word, speech" + ending from diarrhea.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to flow."

It forms all or part of: amenorrhea; catarrh; diarrhea; gonorrhea; hemorrhoids; maelstrom; rheo-; rheology; rheostat; rheum; rheumatic; rheumatism; rheumatoid; rhinorrhea; rhythm; seborrhea; stream.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit sravati "flows," srotah "stream;" Avestan thraotah- "stream, river," Old Persian rauta "river;" Greek rhein "to flow," rheos "a flowing, stream," rhythmos "rhythm," rhytos "fluid, liquid;" Old Irish sruaim, Irish sruth "stream, river;" Welsh ffrwd "stream;" Old Norse straumr, Old English stream; Lettish strauma "stream, river;" Lithuanian sravėti "to trickle, ooze;" Old Church Slavonic struja "river," o-strovu "island," literally "that which is surrounded by a river;" Polish strumień "brook."

late 14c., "diarrhea," from squirt (v.). Meaning "jet of liquid" is from 1620s. Meaning "a whipper-snapper" is from 1839.

by 1962 in the runs "an attack of diarrhea;" see run (v.).

early 15c., "dealing with words" (especially in contrast to things or realities), from Old French verbal (14c.) and directly from Late Latin verbalis "consisting of words, relating to verbs," from Latin verbum "word" (see verb). Related: Verbally. Verbal conditioning is recorded from 1954. Colloquial verbal diarrhea is recorded from 1823. A verbal noun is a noun derived from a verb and sharing in its senses and constructions.

"a gait faster than a walk and slower than a run," c. 1300, originally of horses, from Old French trot "a trot, trotting" (12c.), from troter "to trot, to go," from Frankish *trotton, from Proto-Germanic *trott- (source also of Old High German trotton "to tread"), derivative of *tred- (see tread (v.)). The trots "diarrhea" is recorded from 1808 (compare the runs).