hydrophobia 的詞源

14世紀末， idroforbia，"對水的恐懼，對吞嚥水的厭惡"，是人類患上狂犬病的症狀（有時用於指代疾病本身），源自晚期拉丁語 hydrophobia，來自希臘語 hydrophobos "害怕水"，由 hydr- 構成， hydor "水"的詞幹（來自 PIE 詞根 *wed-（1）"水； 溼潤"的後綴形式）+ phobos "恐懼，害怕"（參見 phobia）。之所以這樣稱呼，是因爲患者對水錶現出厭惡並且吞嚥困難。在古英語中稱爲 wæterfyrhtness。相關： Hydrophobe。

The term hydrophobia, which has been so generally applied to the Lyssa canina, has been deservedly reprobated, because the "dread of water," the literal meaning of the word, is not a pathognomonic mark of the disease. The older writers used the terms aerophobia, or a "dread of air," and pantophobia, or a "fear of all things," as appropriate names for the disease, because the impression cold air sometimes excites terror, and the disorder is marked, by a singular degree of general timidity and distrust. ["Encyclopaedia Londinensis," 1823]

將“恐水症”這個術語廣泛應用於 Lyssa canina 是不妥的，因爲這個詞的字面意思“對水的恐懼”並不是這種疾病的特徵。早期的作家使用 aerophobia 或者“對空氣的恐懼”，以及 pantophobia 或者“對一切事物的恐懼”作爲這種疾病的適當名稱，因爲寒冷的空氣有時會引發恐懼，而這種疾病則表現出一種特殊程度的膽怯和不信任。["倫敦百科全書"，1823]