diabetes
/djaˈbetes/ · B2 · noun · f
diabetes
🩸🍬 Greek diabētēs = 'passing through' (a siphon): sugar-laden fluid just flows through
From Greek dia- (through) + bainein (to go), so diabetes literally means a passing through. Ancient doctors named it for the excessive urine that flows through the body. Spanish keeps the same form and treats it as feminine: la diabetes.