People who have asthma, a lung condition that makes breathing difficult and can cause wheezing and coughing.
From asthma (Greek asthma 'panting, difficult breathing') plus -ic (relating to) plus -s (plural). The term emerged in medical terminology around the 17th century to describe individuals affected by this breathing disorder.
The word 'asthmatic' shifted from just describing the condition to identifying the person, which reflects how we often name people by their medical conditions—a pattern that's changed as we've learned that people are more than their diagnoses.
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