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thalassemia

tha·las·se·mia

UK/ˌθæləˈsiːmiə/ uncommon

noun

Origin

From Ancient Greek θάλασσα (thálassa, “sea”) (see also thalass-) and -emia (“blood”) (from αἷμα (haîma)). The etymology is suggestive of the epidemiology of the disorder, which is more common in people of Mediterranean descent. First attested in 1932.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.