How to Pronounce Glaucoma

Glaucoma is pronounced 'glaw-KOH-mah.' The first syllable rhymes with 'law,' the second syllable gets the stress and sounds like 'CO' in 'coal,' and the last syllable sounds like 'mah.' Say it out loud a few times: glaw-KOH-mah.

The second syllable, 'KOH,' is stressed—that's where your voice gets a little louder and higher. A common mistake is stressing the first or third syllable instead, but remember: glaw-**KOH**-mah.

Glaucoma has three syllables: glau-co-ma. When you say it slowly, you pause briefly between each part: 'glau' (rhymes with 'law'), 'co' (sounds like 'CO' in 'coast'), and 'ma' (sounds like 'mah').

People sometimes say 'GLAWK-oh-mah' (stressing the first syllable) or 'glaw-ko-MAH' (stressing the last syllable), but both are incorrect. The right way is to stress the middle syllable: glaw-**KOH**-mah.

Glaucoma comes from ancient Greek. The Greek word 'glaukos' means 'grayish-blue' or 'gray,' because people with advanced glaucoma sometimes developed a gray or cloudy appearance in their eyes. Over time, doctors used this word to describe the eye disease itself.

Glaucoma is an eye disease, but the word itself originally referred to a grayish or cloudy look. Today, doctors use 'glaucoma' to name a serious eye condition that affects the optic nerve, the part of your eye that sends images to your brain.

Yes! 'Glaucous' is an adjective that means grayish-blue or gray, and it comes from the same Greek root. You might also hear 'glaucomatous' (pronounced glaw-KOH-mah-tus), which is an adjective form meaning 'related to or caused by glaucoma.'

Here's an example: 'The eye doctor explained that glaucoma is a serious condition affecting the optic nerve.' You use it as a noun to name the disease, just like you'd say 'diabetes' or 'arthritis.'