What does gout mean?
Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis in which urate crystals form in and around joints. It commonly produces sudden attacks of intense pain, redness, swelling, and tenderness, especially in the foot. Although gout is associated with elevated uric acid, it is more precise than the general term arthritis because it identifies a particular crystal-mediated disease. The word is now most familiar in medical contexts, but it also has older literary senses: as a noun, gout can mean dregs, residue, or the scum of society, and as an obsolete verb, it means to eat greedily. Its unusual history also reflects an earlier medical theory that painful drops of harmful bodily matter settled in the joints. Today the condition is medically well understood, but the word preserves the influence of historical humoral medicine.
An inflammatory arthritis caused by urate crystals in and around joints, usually associated with elevated uric acid levels and characterized by attacks of severe pain and swelling. In older usage, it can also mean dregs, residue, or scum.
"Medication and changes in diet helped reduce the frequency of his gout attacks."
The disease is normally treated as uncountable; the plural is rare and usually refers to separate attacks or instances.
Obsolete: to eat greedily.
"The hungry men gouted the bread as though they had not eaten for days."
This verb is obsolete and survives chiefly in older literature.
The medical condition is normally uncountable; “gouts” is a rare plural used chiefly for separate attacks or instances.
"For years, the doctor treated him for recurring gouts in his feet."
Gout gets its name from the old belief that drops of harmful humours settled in the joints.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gout come from?
English gout came through Old French goute from Latin gutta, meaning “drop.” Early medical writers understood gout as harmful matter or drops settling in the joints, which explains the connection between the word's literal history and the disease. The same Latin root also underlies words such as gutter, guttation, and guttate.
Related word forms
How gout is actually used
The medical use is formal and normally uncountable. The noun's senses meaning dregs or scum are dated and literary, while the verb meaning to eat greedily is obsolete.