-rrhea

Also -rhea,

1. a combining form meaning “flow,” “discharge,” used in the formation of compound words.

   gonorrhea.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -rrhea¹

From New Latin -rrhoea, from Greek -rrhoia, combining form representing rhoía “a flow,” akin to rheîn “to flow, stream”

Example Sentences

“We define logorrhea as excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness. Logorrhea was created in English in the late 1800s from the Greek words logos, meaning word, reason, speech and -rrhea, from the verb that means to flow,” Merriam Webster explained.

From Washington Times

When To Use

What does -rrhea mean?

The combining form -rrhea is used like a suffix meaning “flow” or "discharge." It is often used in medical terms, especially in pathology.The form -rrhea comes from the Greek rhoía, meaning “a flow" (like a stream). In Greek, the word rhoía helped form the Greek diárrhoia, literally “a flowing through,” source of the English diarrhea. Cha cha cha.What are variants of -rrhea?Variants of -rrhea include -rhea (spelled with a single r) and, chiefly in British English, -rrhoea and -rhoea (spelled with an o). The British English spelling of diarrhea is diarrhoea, for instance.