'asthmatic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'asthma', where 'asthma' meant 'panting, short breath'. The adjective-forming suffix '-ic' (from Latin/French) produced 'asthmatic', and the adverbial suffix '-ally' formed 'asthmatically'.

'asthma' came into English via Latin and Old French from Greek 'asthma'. From English 'asthma' the adjective 'asthmatic' was formed, and later the adverb 'asthmatically' developed from that adjective.

Initially, it referred to 'panting' or 'shortness of breath'; over time it evolved into a medical term relating to the disease 'asthma' and descriptors of the symptoms, leading to the modern sense 'relating to or resembling asthma'.