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Etymology is defined as 'the origin, formation and development of a word'. What is the history of the word 'paediatrics'? Those who practise the specialty discipline of paediatrics and child health use the word every day. This paper reports the results of research to trace its origins and to establish the etymology and evolution of the word itself.
The specialty care of sick and injured children is today called 'paediatrics', 'pediatrics' (USA), 'padiatrik' (German) and 'pédiatrie' (French). The philology of the word is straightforward and well known, with its stems derived from the Latinised (and later Anglicised Greek) 'paedo' and 'iatric' (Oxford English Dictionary ). 1 The origins from classical Greek are 'pais, paedos', meaning a child, 2 with its derivative 'paidion', a boy 3 ; and from 'iatros', a physician, especially in its use as a 'combining form noting a relationship with a physician or with medicine'. 2 In turn, this was related to 'iatrike', Greek for 'the science of medicine' (R Milns, personal communication).
In classical Greek, the derivative word was 'paedogogós', a slave who escorted a boy (only boys!) to and from school (R Milns, personal communication). Later in Rome, he was referred to by the Latin 'paedagogus'. 4 This later developed the connotation of leading a child, and via the French 'pédagogie' became the English 'pedagogy', the science of teaching. 5
The place of children in the sociology of Roman life had a particular etymological nuance-they were sometimes referred to not as individual cherished beings but as 'Spes gentis'-'The hope of the race' (R Milns, personal communication). The connotation of this phrase implied not the intrinsic ethical worth of a child, but as a potential contributor to the future Roman Empire, both as citizens and, in the case of boys, as soldiers. 'Upon the children, the future of the Roman race depends' (R Milns, personal communication).
What is already known on this topic
Some references to the historic origin of the word 'paediatrics'.
An outline history of the heritage of paediatrics and child health.
What this study adds
Results of detailed research on the etymology of the word 'paediatrics' as a descriptor of the contemporary specialty of paediatrics and child health.
A perspective of the word that describes the specialty...