asthma
/ˈasmə/noun
asthma is spelled A-S-T-H-M-A: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, asthma means “A long-term respiratory condition, in which the airways may unexpectedly and suddenly narrow, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of asthma is asthmas or asthmata.
How many letters and syllables are in asthma?
| Letters | 6: A-S-T-H-M-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is asthma?
Asthma appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce asthma?
- UK /ˈasmə/
- UK /ˈasθmə/
- UK /ˈaθsmə/
Asthma has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-asthma.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-asthma.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of asthma
- asthmas plural
- asthmata plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does asthma mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A long-term respiratory condition, in which the airways may unexpectedly and suddenly narrow, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Asthma in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense chronic respiratory disease:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does asthma come from?
From Middle English asma, asme, from Medieval Latin asthma, asma, from Ancient Greek ἆσθμα (âsthma, “laborious breathing, asthma”). The spelling was changed to add -th- in the 16th century to match the Greek etymological roots.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).