ˈazmə, Brit usually & US rarely ˈasmə noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by Greek asthma ) of earlier asma, from Middle English, from Medieval Latin, modification of Greek asthma; perhaps akin to Greek aēnai to blow — more at wind
: labored breathing either continuous or paroxysmal accompanied by wheezing, a sense of constriction in the chest, and often by attacks of coughing or gasping caused by conditions that interfere with the normal inflow and outflow of air in the lungs (as swelling of the mucous membrane of the bronchi or constriction of the bronchial or bronchiolar walls with resultant narrowing of the lumen) — see bronchial asthma ; compare cardiac asthma