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Tag Archives: etymology

Word origins: terapéutica, jerga e indigente Posted by on Oct 16, 2009

Terapéutica was first found in Spanish from 1555 on, when it appeared in Dioscórides, by Andrés de Laguna. The word terapéutica was taken by Laguna from vulgar Latin therapeutica, -orum (medicine treaties) and from Greek therapeutikós (the occupation of a service man who had to take care of someone, deriving from therapein). In Spanish, this…

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Word Origins: placebo, domingo y ostra Posted by on Sep 18, 2009

Placebo (same spelling in English and Spanish) is a harmless substance given to a sick person instead of medicine, without telling them it is not real. They’re often used in tests in which some people take real medicine and others take a placebo, so that doctors can compare the results to see if the real…

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Word origin: recordar Posted by on Jun 27, 2009

In the old days, people thought that feelings lived in the heart. For Aristotle, the heart was the core organ in the body and the brain played a supporting role. At the same time people thought the memory was also lodged in the heart, so the Romans started using the word recordari, which comes from…

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Word origins Posted by on Jun 13, 2008

We’re going to start a series today with word origins and history (etymology). 1. cirujano It was around 1340 that the word “cirujano” (surgeon) was registered in the Spanish language, even though  cirujano had already appeared in Siete Partidas (1251-1265) by Alfonso X el Sabio: “Y esto que diximos delos orebzes se entiende tanbien delos…

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