What does coxitis mean?
Coxitis is the medical term for inflammation of the hip joint, essentially arthritis affecting the hip. It derives from the Latin word coxa, meaning hip, combined with the Greek-derived suffix -itis, which denotes inflammation. The condition typically causes pain in the groin, thigh, or buttock, stiffness, and reduced range of motion, and it most often results from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, previous injury, or developmental abnormalities of the joint. Because the hip is a major weight-bearing joint, coxitis can significantly impair walking and daily activities in advanced cases. The term appears mainly in clinical and orthopaedic contexts rather than everyday conversation, where speakers are more likely to say 'arthritis of the hip.' Understanding the word nonetheless offers a useful window into medical terminology, since its components recur across many disease names.
nounInflammation of the hip joint; medically, a form of arthritis affecting the hip.
- Inflammation of the hip joint (medical term for arthritis of the hip).
"The elderly patient's persistent groin pain was eventually diagnosed as coxitis."
"Radiographs confirmed advanced coxitis in the patient's right hip."
"Severe coxitis can make even short walks painful and may eventually require joint replacement."
The plural follows the classical -itis/-itides pattern shared with words like arthritis (arthritides); it is rare outside specialist medical literature, where the singular is usually treated as an uncountable diagnosis.
"Both hips showed signs of coxitides on the MRI scan."
The 'cox' in coxitis has nothing to do with chickens or drivers — it comes straight from Latin coxa, meaning hip.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coxitis
Coxitis combines the Latin noun coxa ('hip') with the suffix -itis, borrowed from Greek and widely used in medicine to denote inflammation. The formation follows the pattern of other classical disease terms such as arthritis and meningitis. It entered English medical vocabulary as part of the broader adoption of Latinate anatomical terminology in modern clinical practice.
How coxitis is actually used
A formal clinical term used chiefly in medicine and orthopaedics; everyday speech would more likely say 'arthritis of the hip' or 'hip arthritis'.
Easily confused with coxitis
Sciatica is pain radiating along the sciatic nerve from the lower back, whereas coxitis is inflammation of the hip joint itself.
Trochanteric bursitis inflames the fluid-filled sac beside the hip, while coxitis is inflammation within the hip joint proper.