Tetanus

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late Middle English: from Latin, from Greek tetanos ‘muscular spasm’, from teinein ‘to stretch’.

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From Latin tetanus, from Ancient Greek τέτανος(tétanos), from τείνω(teínō, “I stretch”).

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tetanus (n.)

infectious disease, late 14c., from Latin tetanus "tetanus," from Greek tetanos "tetanus, muscular spasm," literally "a stretching, tension," from teinein "to stretch" (from PIE root *ten- "to stretch"); "so called because the disease is characterized by violent spasms and stiffness of the muscles" [Barnhart]. Related: Tetanoid (adj.).