“Hemorrhoid;” Now there’s a word removed by standard deviations from the popular lexicon. Probably neither Steinbeck nor Michener much used hemorrhoid in their work. And certainly Shakespeare refrained – albeit likely with some regret – from invoking outright or even alluding to hemorrhoid in his amassed body of epitaphs.
Continuing in the Shakespearian vein – one wonders; “what’s in a word?” Ah, what indeed? In the case of Hemorrhoids: a great deal. The term hemorrhoid derives for the Greek “Hemo,” meaning “of or pertaining to blood, “Rhea,” meaning excessive discharge of and the suffix, “oid” – which means “resembling” or “similar to.” Which is to say, “Hemorrhoid” translates, more or less, to: Condition resembling the excessive discharge of blood. Consider for purpose Etymological comparison, “rhinorrhea” means, “condition of excessive discharge from the nose.” “Hematology” means “study of blood.” “Diarrhea” means…presumably, dear reader, the definition of the latter presents no mystery. Bearing in mind the words component parts: “Hemo,” “rrhea” and “oid,” proves helpful to the endeavor of properly spelling hemorrhoid. More than one clinical chart has scrawled somewhere therein “Hemaroid,” “Hemroid,” “Hemmoroyd,” “Hemorhoid” and the plural “Hemroids,” etc. and many other variations of the word.
Hemorrhoid an uncomfortable condition saddled with a burdensome, difficult to spell moniker. No wonder Shakespeare steered clear of the business of colorizing his work with the word. “A rose by any other name…”
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