1806, medical Latin, from gastro- "stomach" + -itis "inflammation." Coined by French pathologist François-Boissier de la Croix de Sauvages (1706-1767).
Entries linking to gastritis
gastro-
also gastero-, before vowels gastr-, scientific word-forming element meaning "stomach," from Greek gastro-, combining form of gaster (genitive gastros) "belly, paunch; womb" (see gastric). Also used in compounds in ancient Greek, as gastrobarys "heavy with child."
-itis
word-forming element in medicine denoting "diseases characterized by inflammation" (of the specified part), Modern Latin, from Greek -itis, feminine of adjectival suffix -ites "pertaining to." Feminine because it was used with an implied nosos "disease," a feminine noun; especially in arthritis (nosos) "(disease) of the joints." Arthritis (16c.) was one of the earliest appearances of the suffix in English and from it the suffix was abstracted in other uses.