1799, "characterized by tubers," from Latin tuberculum (see tubercle) + -ar. From 1898 as "having tuberculosis."
Entries linking to tubercular
tubercle n.
1570s, from Latin tuberculum "a small swelling," diminutive of tuber "lump" (from PIE root *teue- "to swell").
-ar
word-formation element meaning "pertaining to, of the nature of," from Latin -arem, -aris "of the kind of, belonging to," a secondary form (by dissimilation) of -alis, used after syllables with an -l- (such as insularis for *insulalis, stellaris for *stellalis).