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A.Word.A.Day--iatric

iatric (eye-A-trik) adjective

Relating to medicine or a physician.

[From Greek iatrikos (medical), from iatros (physician), from iasthai (to heal).]

As a suffix, today's word appears in a number of words such as pediatric, psychiatric, geriatric, ec. A related word is iatrogenic, used to describe a disorder (e.g. infection) caused by the actions (exam, diagnosis, etc.) of a doctor.

"People who wonder what to do in a dire medical emergency during the doctors' lie-down should consider flying to the handy United States for treatment. But before submitting to foreign iatric tinkering they should remember to stuff their pockets with thousand-dollar (U.S.) bills." William Child Currey; Stuff Your Pockets First; Toronto Star (Canada); Jun 28, 1986.

"My husband laughed in his unkind iatric way at a friend of mine who had said, 'If anything should happen to me...' Luckily he left it till after she was gone before saying, 'Of course something will happen to her - sooner or later.'" Dot Wordsworth; Mind Your Language; The Spectator (London, UK); Jun 17, 2000.

This week's theme: Words related to medicine.

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