'phthisis' definitions:
Definition of 'phthisis'
(from WordNet)
noun
Involving the lungs with progressive wasting of the body [syn: pulmonary tuberculosis, consumption, phthisis, wasting disease, white plague]
Definition of 'phthisis'
From: GCIDE
- phthisis \phthi"sis\ (th[imac]"s[i^]s; 277), n. [L., fr. Gr. fqi`sis, fr. fqi`ein to pass or waste away: cf. F. phthisie.] (Med.) A wasting or consumption of the tissues. The term is now obsolete; it was once applied to many wasting diseases, but in the early 1900's became restricted to tuberculosis of the lungs (pulmonary phthisis, or consumption). See Consumption. [Obs.] [1913 Webster + PJC]
- Fibroid phthisis. See under Fibroid. [1913 Webster]