-aemia-emiasuffix
Primary stress is attracted to the first syllable of this suffix and vowels may be reduced accordingly.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin -aemia.
Etymology: < post-classical Latin and scientific Latin -aemia (formations in which are found from at least the late 17th cent., e.g. anaemia anaemia n., polyaemia polyaemia n.) < ancient Greek -αιμία (in e.g. ἀναιμία anaemia n., πολυαιμία polyaemia n.) < αἷμα blood (see haemo- comb. form) + -ία -ia suffix1. Compare French -émie (formations in which are found from at least the first half of the 19th cent.; also (rare) †-aimie , directly after ancient Greek -αιμία ), German -ämie (formations in which are found from the first half of the 19th cent.). Compare -haemia comb. form.Found from at least the early 19th cent., first in adaptations of foreign-language terms, and subsequently (from at least the second half of the 19th cent.) in formations within English. Chiefly combining with first elements ultimately of Latin and Greek origin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2021).