"inflammation of bone," by 1825; see osteo- "bone" + -itis "inflammation." Related: Osteitic.
Entries linking to osteitis
osteo-
before vowels oste-, word-forming element meaning "bone, bones," from Greek osteon "bone," from PIE root *ost- "bone."
-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.