hydrophobia 的词源

14世纪晚期，idroforbia，意为“对水的恐惧，吞咽水的厌恶”，这是人类狂犬病的一种症状（有时也指该疾病本身）。这个词源于晚期拉丁语的hydrophobia，而更早则来自希腊语的hydrophobos，意思是“畏水”。其中，hydr-是hydor（水）的词干，源自原始印欧语词根*wed- (1)，意为“水；湿”；而phobos则意为“恐惧，害怕”（参见phobia）。之所以这样命名，是因为人类患者通常会对水产生厌恶，并且难以吞咽。在古英语中，这种症状被称为wæterfyrhtness。相关词汇还有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]

“狂犬病”这个词被广泛应用于Lyssa canina（犬狂犬病），但这种用法是值得批评的，因为字面意思的“畏水”并不是该病的特征性标志。早期的医学文献中，有人使用aerophobia（畏空气）或pantophobia（对一切事物的恐惧）来描述这种疾病，因为冷空气有时会引发恐惧，而患者通常表现出极度的胆怯和不信任。[《伦敦百科全书》，1823年]