What does rheumatics mean?
The rheumatics is an old-fashioned expression for rheumatism or for the aches and inflammation associated with rheumatic disease. It is normally plural and is often used collectively, especially in the phrase “a bout of the rheumatics.” In modern medical usage, rheumatism and more specific names for individual conditions are preferred, and “the rheumatics” can suggest an older person’s complaint or add a humorous or exaggerated tone. The word nevertheless remains recognizable because it preserves the broad historical sense of rheumatic illness rather than referring to one narrowly defined diagnosis. It can appear in dialogue, comic writing, and descriptions of an earlier period, where it conveys both a familiar ailment and a distinctly traditional register.
plural nounAn old-fashioned term for rheumatism or rheumatic disease, especially when used collectively for aches and inflammation associated with such conditions. The expression “the rheumatics” is now chiefly informal or dated.
- An old-fashioned collective term for rheumatism or rheumatic conditions and their symptoms.
"My grandmother attributed her stiff joints to the rheumatics."
"The rheumatics made it difficult for him to work in the cold."
"In her humorous account, she blamed her rheumatics for refusing to climb the stairs."
The word is normally plural in form and is often used collectively in the phrase “the rheumatics.”
"He was laid up with the rheumatics for much of the winter."
Once a general label for rheumatic pains, “the rheumatics” now carries a distinctly old-fashioned flavor in English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rheumatics come from?
The word belongs to a family derived from Greek rheuma, meaning “flow” or “stream,” through forms associated with rhein, “to flow.” Medieval and early modern medical writers used this vocabulary when describing rheumatic disorders, often connecting them with the movement or accumulation of bodily fluids. The English plural “rheumatics” developed alongside the established forms rheumatism and rheumatic and preserves that older medical vocabulary.
How rheumatics is actually used
Usually used in the plural form and commonly in the set phrase “the rheumatics.” It is now informal, dated, or literary rather than standard medical terminology.
Easily confused with rheumatics
Rheumatism is the standard modern noun for a rheumatic condition or its symptoms, while rheumatics is an older plural form commonly found in the phrase “the rheumatics.”