hydrophobia
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GC: n

S: HLN – https://www.healthline.com/health/aquaphobia#:~:text=This%20can%20include%20a%20swimming,the%20later%20stages%20of%20rabies. (last access: 19 November 2020); Lifeder – https://en.lifeder.com/hydrophobia/ (last access: 19 November 2020).

N: 1. Late 14c., idroforbia, “dread of water, aversion to swallowing water,” a symptom of rabies in man (sometimes used for the disease itself), from Late Latin hydrophobia, from Greek hydrophobos “dreading water,” from hydr, stem of hydor “water” (from suffixed form of PIE root *wed- (1) “water; wet”) + phobos “dread, fear”. So called because human sufferers show aversion to water and have difficulty swallowing it. In Old English as wæterfyrhtness. Related: Hydrophobe.

2. Two meanings: 1RABIES. 2a morbid dread of water.

3. The term hydrophobia, which has been so generally applied to the Lyssa canina, has been deservedly reprobated, because the “dread of water,” the literal meaning of the word, is not a pathognomonic mark of the disease. The older writers used the terms aerophobia, or a “dread of air,” and pantophobia, or a “fear of all things,” as appropriate names for the disease, because the impression cold air sometimes excites terror, and the disorder is marked, by a singular degree of general timidity and distrust. [“Encyclopaedia Londinensis,” 1823]

4. Strictly speaking, it means fear of water. It’s also a symptom of rabies. Some people with rabies became startled and terrified when offered a glass of water.

5. Hydrophobia is classified as a specific anxiety disorder according to the DSM-5 (the manual for the classification of mental disorders). Specific phobias are disorders in which the sufferer feels irrational and excessive fear towards a specific thing. In the case of hydrophobia, the feared element is water. The individual will experience intense fear when exposed to it. Hydrophobia has been classified as an anxiety condition due to the symptoms that appear when the sufferer comes into contact with the phobic stimulus. In this disorder, when the individual is exposed to water they show signs of anxiety. Hydrophobia also includes two behavioural changes: avoidance and escape tactics. The individual will constantly try to avoid contact with water. This is seen in specific situations. For example, a hydrophobe will never go to the beach on a hot summers day, nor will they go near a stream or river during a hiking trip. However, avoidance does not just stop there: it can be much more extreme. Someone who suffers from hydrophobia will try and avoid contact with water in many normal situations, such as using dishwater, running the shower, or using a hose to water the plants.

6. Aquaphobia is often mistaken for another phobia called hydrophobia. Even though they both involve water, aquaphobia and hydrophobia aren’t the same.
Hydrophobia is an aversion to water that develops in humans during the later stages of rabies.

S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=hydrophobia (last access: 19 November 2020). 2. MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hydrophobia (last access: 21 November 2020). 3. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=hydrophobia (last access: 19 November 2020). 4. WebMD – https://dictionary.webmd.com/hydrophobia (last access: 19 November 2020). 5. Lifeder – https://en.lifeder.com/hydrophobia/ (last access: 19 November 2020). 6. HLN – https://www.healthline.com/health/aquaphobia#:~:text=Aquaphobia%20is%20a%20specific%20phobia,ocean%2C%20or%20even%20a%20bathtub. (last access: 19 November 2020).

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CR: phobia, rabies.