Learn English – What’s the etymology of “athlete’s foot”

etymology

athlete's foot

fungous disease of the feet

Why is this common skin infection of the feet caused by fungus called athlete's foot?

Does it have to anything to do with athletes?

Did athletes use to get this disease ?

What is the origin?

Best Answer

The earliest example I could find dates to 1928, when at least two newspapers published slightly different stories based on a press-release by Charles Pabst, chief dermatologist of the Greenpoint Hospital, Brooklyn. One of those articles explained:

Tinea tricophyton is a vegetable fungus found on the floors of swimming pools, bath houses and golf club locker rooms. So many golfers and athletes are afflicted with it that it has become known as "athlete's foot," Dr. Pabst said.

The Los Angeles Times, February 13, 1928, page 3.

"Tinea tricophyton" appears in medical literature as early as 1887. I did not do a full analysis, but in spot-checking a few examples, none of them focused on tinea tricophyton affecting feet, specifically. So I do not know when it became known as "athlete's foot," or what prompted it.

N-grams are useful for identifying trends or dates to look at, but they also pick up unrelated items where the word "athlete" and "foot" appear next to one another or nearby. There are many such examples in sports pages before 1928, which may be why the N-gram appears to start spiking earlier. Unless I've missed something, which wouldn't be the first time.

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