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Word Analysis

rheumatoid arthritis

Complete linguistic analysis including syllable division, pronunciation, morphology, and definitions.

5 syllables
20 characters
English (US)
Enriched
5syllables

rheumatoid arthritis

Linguistic Analysis

Syllables

rheu-ma-toid ar-thri-tis

Pronunciation

/ˌruːməˌtɔɪd ɑːrˈθraɪtɪs/

Stress

2 0 2 0 1 0

Morphemes

rheumat- + arthr- + -oid + -itis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a six-syllable medical noun phrase of Greek origin. 'Rheumatoid' (rheu-ma-toid) derives from 'rheuma' (flow) + '-oid' (resembling), with secondary stress on syllables 1 and 3. 'Arthritis' (ar-thri-tis) derives from 'arthron' (joint) + '-itis' (inflammation), with primary stress on '-thri-'. The 'th' and 'rh' digraphs remain intact, and the onset cluster 'thr' attaches to the stressed syllable following the Maximal Onset Principle.

Definitions

noun
  1. 1

    A chronic autoimmune disease causing inflammation of the joints, leading to pain, swelling, stiffness, and progressive joint destruction

    “She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 40.”

    “Rheumatoid arthritis often affects the small joints of the hands and feet symmetrically.”

    syn:RAinflammatory arthritis

Stress pattern

Secondary stress on 'rheu-' and '-toid'; primary stress on '-thri-'; other syllables unstressed

Syllables

6
rheu/ruː/
ma/mə/
toid/tɔɪd/
ar/ɑːr/
thri/θraɪ/
tis/tɪs/

rheu — Open syllable, secondary stress, contains digraph 'rh' and diphthong spelled 'eu'. ma — Open syllable, unstressed, vowel reduced to schwa. toid — Closed syllable ending in /d/, secondary stress, contains diphthong /ɔɪ/. ar — Closed syllable, unstressed, rhotic vowel in American English. thri — Open syllable, primary stress, contains /θr/ onset cluster and diphthong /aɪ/. tis — Closed syllable ending in /s/, unstressed, short vowel /ɪ/

Word Parts

root

rheumat- + arthr-

Greek 'rheuma' (flow) + Greek 'arthron' (joint)

suf

-oid + -itis

Greek '-oeides' (resembling) + Greek '-itis' (inflammation)

Similar Words

rheu­ma­tismthy­roidbron­chi­tis

Digraph integrity

'rh' and 'th' are kept together as single phonemes /r/ and /θ/

Maximal Onset Principle

'thr' forms a legal English onset cluster, attached to '-thri-' syllable

VCV division

In 'rheumatoid', single consonant /m/ between vowels goes to following syllable: 'rheu-ma-'

Morpheme boundary respect

Suffix '-oid' and '-itis' remain intact as single syllabic units

Compound phrase independence

Each word in the phrase syllabifies according to its own structure

  • Greek-origin medical terminology retains classical morpheme boundaries
  • The 'rh' spelling is etymological (Greek rho with rough breathing); always pronounced /r/
  • In non-rhotic dialects (British), 'ar-' syllable has /ɑː/ without final /r/ coloring
  • This is a fixed noun phrase; neither word undergoes stress shift
Analysis by claude · 12/29/2025

Nearby Words

17 words
rheumatoid arthritis(current)
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