Making a loud, excited cry or shout; or describing a condition like whooping cough, characterized by a distinctive coughing sound.
From Middle English 'whopen,' possibly from Old Norse 'hoopa.' The medical term 'whooping cough' dates to the 18th century, named for the characteristic 'whoop' sound during recovery.
Whooping cough has been around for centuries, but the disease gets its name from the sound it makes—the 'whoop' when a patient struggles to breathe in after coughing, making the symptom literally descriptive in the disease's name.
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