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ber·i·ber·i

(bĕrē-bĕrē)

A disease caused by a deficiency of thiamine, characterized by neurological symptoms, cardiovascular abnormalities, and edema, and occurring chiefly in individuals whose diet consists largely of polished rice.

[From Sinhalese bæribæri, intensive reduplication of bæri, unable, impossible (in reference to the weakness experienced by beriberi sufferers), from Sanskrit dialectal *abhāriya-, variant of Sanskrit *abhārya-, not to be borne, unbearable : a-, not; see AHIMSA + bhārya-, to be borne or supported (from bharati, he carries, brings; see bher-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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