Standard Lemma guide

catarrh

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /kəˈtɑɹ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: Qatar

1

noun

Meaning 1

Inflammation of a mucous membrane.

Especially, that of the nose and throat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: coryza

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Inflammation of a mucous membrane.

The discharge (fluid) associated with this condition.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

Examples

  • He coughed violently and spat out the catarrh irritating his throat.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: phlegm, sputum

3

noun

Meaning 3

Inflammation of a mucous membrane.

Rhinitis or rhinosinusitis; cold or coldlike illness; common cold.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, countable, metonymically, uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

inflammation of the nose and throat with increased production of mucus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inflammation, redness, rubor

History

Etymology

From Middle English catarre, from Medieval Latin catarrus, from Late Latin catarrhus, from Ancient Greek κατάρροος (katárrhoos), which is derived from καταρρέω (katarrhéō, “to flow down”), which is composed of κατά (katá, “down”) and ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow”).

Across languages

Translations

50 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: نَزْلَة (nazla) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Bulgarian: катар (katar) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Catalan: catarro — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Chinese Cantonese: 卡他 (kaa1 taa1) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 黏膜炎 (niánmóyán) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Danish: katar — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Dutch: slijmvliesontsteking — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Dutch: catarre — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Esperanto: kataro — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Estonian: limaskestapõletik — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Estonian: katarr — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Faroese: rovubruni — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Finnish: katarri — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • French: catarrhe — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • German: Katarrh — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Ancient Greek: κατάρροος (katárrhoos) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Hebrew: נַזֶּלֶת (nazélet) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Hindi: ज़ुकाम (zukām) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Hindi: जुकाम (jukām) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Hindi: सर्दी (sardī) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Hindi: प्रतिश्याय (pratiśyāy) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Hungarian: hurut — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Ido: kataro — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Irish: réama — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Italian: catarro — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Japanese: カタル (kataru) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: gravēdō — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: coryza — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: catarrhus — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: dēstīllātiō — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: gravitūdō — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: īnflūxiō — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Latin: rheuma — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Macedonian: катар (katar) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Māori: kauanu — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Māori: hinamokimoki — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Navajo: chʼiish — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Polish: katar — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Portuguese: catarro — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Russian: ката́р (katár) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Sanskrit: प्रतिश्याय (pratiśyāya) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Sicilian: catarru — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Spanish: catarro — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Swedish: katarr — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Ottoman Turkish: نزله (nezle) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Urdu: سردی (sardī) — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Venetan: catar — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Vilamovian: śnöp — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Volapük: katar — inflammation of the mucous membranes
  • Western Punjabi: نزلہ (nzlh) — inflammation of the mucous membranes