Hay fever Med.), nasal catarrh accompanied with fever, and sometimes with paroxysms of dyspn[oe]a, to which some persons are subject in the spring and summer seasons. It has been attributed to the effluvium from hay, and to the pollen of certain plants. It is also called hay asthma, hay cold, and rose fever.
We need to break down the two words: First Hay which comes from thr prehistoric Germanic verb khauwanalso of Englishhewwhich was formed from the Indo-European basekoukow. In short, it's hay that is cut down. Secondly, Fever in it's underling meaning of a high temperature which goes back to the Indo-european dhegh, dhogh-, burn which also produced English day fever. Latin febris, Old French fievre. There was nothing in the book about Hayfever as an allergy to hay. Check Yahoo.com and type hayfever in their address box. See what you get.
Posts: 3477 | Location: Colfax, WA--the home of the world's largest chain-saw sculpture!! | Registered: 06-03-02
The condition was first described - in English - by someone named Bostock in 1819. He referred to it as "summer catarrh". It was first given the name "hay fever" in a medical gazette article in 1829 written by someone called Gordon. He also sometimes named it "hay asthma".
