Inflammation of the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
From aorta (Greek aorē, 'that which is lifted up') combined with -itis, a Latin suffix meaning inflammation. The condition was named in the 19th century as medical understanding of arterial diseases developed.
Aortitis can be caused by infections like syphilis or autoimmune diseases, and untreated cases were historically fatal—this is why the disease was terrifying before antibiotics. The aorta itself was named by ancient Greek anatomists who observed it 'lifting' blood upward from the heart.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.