asthma

The word ‘asthma’ is derived from the Greek ‘aazein’, meaning ‘sharp breath’.
The word first appears in Homer’s Iliad.
The Greek physician Hippocrates was the first to use it in reference to the medical condition in 450 BC.
Six centuries later, his compatriot Galen wrote much about asthma, noting that it was caused by partial or complete bronchial obstruction.