GC: n

S: NCBI – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5186710/ (last access: 23 June 2024); CDC – https://www.cdc.gov/flu/treatment/caring-for-someone.htm (last access: 23 June 2024).

N: 1. – sick (adj): Middle English sik, from Old English seoc “ill, unwell, diseased, feeble, weak; corrupt; sad, troubled, deeply affected by strong feeling,” from Proto-Germanic *seuka-, which is of uncertain origin.

It is the general Germanic word (compare Old Norse sjukr, Danish syg, Old Saxon siok, Old Frisian siak, Middle Dutch siec, Dutch ziek, Old High German sioh, Gothic siuks “sick, ill”), but in German and Dutch it was displaced by krank “weak, slim,” probably via the notion of “twisted, bent” (see crank (n.)).

The restricted meaning of English sick, “having an inclination to vomit, affected with nausea,” is from 1610s. By c. 1200 as “distressed emotionally by grief, anger, etc.; physically ill through emotional distress. The sense of “tired or weary (of something), disgusted from satiety” is from 1590s; the figurative phrase sick and tired of is attested from 1783. To worry (oneself) sick is by 1952.

The modern colloquial meaning “mentally twisted” is by 1955, a revival of the word’s use in this sense from 1550s (the sense of “spiritually or morally corrupt” was in Old English, which also had seocmod “infirm of mind”). Sick joke is attested by 1958.

– person (n): early 13c., from Old French persone “human being, anyone, person” (12c., Modern French personne) and directly from Latin persona “human being, person, personage; a part in a drama, assumed character,” originally “a mask, a false face,” such as those of wood or clay worn by the actors in later Roman theater. Oxford English Dictionary offers the general 19c. explanation of persona as “related to” Latin personare “to sound through” (i.e. the mask as something spoken through and perhaps amplifying the voice), “but the long o makes a difficulty ….” Klein and Barnhart say it is possibly borrowed from Etruscan phersu “mask.” Klein goes on to say this is ultimately of Greek origin and compares Persephone.

2. a person suffering from an illness. Synonyms: diseased person, sufferer.

3. A patient is a person who is receiving medical treatment from a doctor or hospital. A patient is also someone who is registered with a particular doctor.

4. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention, among others, Shakespeare and Medicine.

S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=sick+person (last access: 23 June 2024). 2. Vocab – https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sick%20person (last access: 23 June 2024). 3. CED – https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sick-patient (last access: 23 June 2024). 4. Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Medicine-R-R-Simpson/dp/0443004587 (last access: 23 June 2024).

SYN:
S:

CR: disease, fever, pain, patient, prescription, side effect, therapy, user.