The meaning of patient
pa·tient
[pey-shuhnt]
–noun
1.a person who is under Medical care or treatment.2.a person or thing that undergoes some action.3.Archaic. a sufferer or victim.–adjective
4.bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like.5.characterized by or expressing such a quality: a patient smile.6.quietly and steadily persevering or diligent, esp. in detail or exactness: a patient worker.7.undergoing the action of another (opposed to agent).
Have you ever wondered why these two words are the same? Or why they call a patient a patient? I mean who came up with this word? Has patience always been a requirement to be a patient?
As I sat at Vanderbilt Eye Institute for 4 hours last week (most of which was spent waiting), it hit me that these two words are the same. My husband was with me and he is one of the least patient people I know; I’m not far behind him, but I’ve spent enough time waiting in Dr.’s offices that I’m kind of used to it. This is why I hate taking him with me when I go to Nashville (or rather having him take me). The outcome of this particular visit was all the more annoying since we got no real information. The Neuro-Opthamologist said he didn’t see anything that would be causing the eye pain and he felt it was most likely “cluster headaches”. I looked this up when we got home and I don’t agree (I’ll post more about that later).
So, I looked it up, wondering which came first. The adjective came first… the idea of someone being “patient” or “enduring of suffering” goes all the way back to the Greek. The idea of a patient, in the medical sense, started in America. I guess it makes sense since patients are usually suffering, and unfortunately, we also must be patient and wait for our suffering to stop.
related article: Etymology of Patient
Leave a Reply