Diaphoretic

/daɪæfəˈrɛtɪk/ adjective

Definition

Relating to or causing excessive sweating, or serving to promote sweating as a therapeutic or medical effect.

Etymology

From Greek dia- (through) + phoresis (sweating), with the suffix -etic indicating a quality or tendency, from medieval medical terminology describing substances that induced perspiration.

Kelly Says

In ancient medicine, doctors believed inducing sweating could cure diseases by 'expelling bad humors'—while the theory was wrong, they were onto something: fever-induced sweating is actually part of your immune system's real strategy to fight infection.

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