- gonorrhea (n.)
- also gonorrhoea, 1520s, from Late Latin gonorrhoia, from Greek gonos "seed" (see gonad) + rhoe "flow," from rhein "to flow" (see rheum). Mucus discharge was mistaken for semen. In early records often Gomoria, etc., from folk etymology association with biblical Gomorrah. Related: Gonorrheal; gonorrhoeal.
