Ways of Translating Medical Terms from

English into Romanian

Contents

Contents...........................................................................................................................................2

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3

Chapter One. The general characteristics of origin and semantics of word

1.1 Etymology of word................................................................................................................4

1.2 Semantics...............................................................................................................................6

1.3 General overview of medical terminology..........................................................................12

Chapter Two. The Peculiarities of Translating English Medical Terms

2.1 The analysis of medical terms.............................................................................................15

Conclusions...................................................................................................................................22

Bibliography..................................................................................................................................23

2

Introduction Every profession has its jargon, a specialized language that allows for quick, efficient

communication between members of the same profession while minimizing the potential for

misunderstandings. Jargon is not unique to professions. Have you ever tried to understand two

teenagers talking to each other? Adolescent slang serves some of the same purposes as a

professional jargon including identifying "insiders" and excluding "outsiders". However, it is in

everyone's interest to be an insider when it comes to medical terminology, the jargon of

medicine. Being familiar with medical words makes your visit to the doctor less intimidating

and, more importantly, enables you to make sound decisions about your health care in

consultation with your family physician. 

Medical terminology is a specialized language used by health care practitioners. And, just

like a foreign language, it has its own vocabulary and ways of stringing together words in an

acceptable, i.e., understandable to everyone, format. However, unlike a foreign language, we can

come across medical terminology every day in magazines and newspapers with articles about

new drugs, diets, new medical treatments and on television medical dramas. 

Many medical terms have interesting, even strange meanings or stories behind their evolution as

words. 

The main objective of this paper is to outline is not to learn a bunch of new words, but to

understand the basics of what makes up medical terms so we can not only use and understand

them ourselves, but be able to recognize, learn and translate new terms when we come across

them in the future. The paper will provide with a head start in learning "medical lingo".   Also it

is an advantage to be able to better communicate with clients and physicians.

So the aim of this year paper is:

understanding medical terms

handling unfamiliar medical terms

analysing medical terms

recognising word formation patterns: prefix, root and suffix

In order to achieve this purpose, the work is divided into two main chapters.

Chapter I this paper presents an overview of the medical terms in English language,

highlighting, the general characteristics of origin and semantics of word.

Chapter II presents the structural analysis of medical terms, and for better visualization we

have used tables and pictures, this goes along with vivid examples sourcing form specialised

works.

Finally it presents its findings and concludes presenting some ideas for future work.

3

Chapter One. The general characteristics of origin and semantics of word

1.1 Etymology of wordEtymology, branch of linguistics that deals with the origin and development of words and with

the comparison of similar words, or cognates, in different languages of the same language

group. In its relation to other subdivisions of linguistics, etymology stands closest to phonology;

in fact, before the development of phonetic laws, no scientific or systematic means of tracing the

derivation of words existed.

As its own origin from the Greek (etymos, “true”; logos, “word”) shows, etymology was first

used as a philosophical term. The Greek Stoics believed that words and their meanings exist in

nature, as the real counterparts of things and abstract ideas, rather than as conventions invented

and agreed upon by human beings. Long before the foundation of the Stoic school, however,

Plato had used a method similar to modern etymology in his Cratylus, a dialogue on the

meaning of words. The first formal treatise on etymology, however, was Indian, dating as far

back perhaps as the 5th century BC, and was composed to explain the difficult words in the Rig-

Veda, the oldest and most important of the Hindu sacred books.

Early attempts at etymology were naive and incorrect according to phonetic evolution. This

primitive kind of etymology is still common and is known as popular, or folk, etymology.

Among those unfamiliar with the history of words, the attempt is frequently made to etymologize

them in terms of other words to which they may have some phonetic resemblance. In English,

for example, the word island, properly “isle-land” (Anglo-Saxon īgland), has been explained as

“land like an eye in the waters”; and asparagus (Greek asparagos, “a sprout”) has become

corrupted to “sparrowgrass” in colloquial speech.

With the introduction of Sanskrit into Europe, etymology along more scientific lines was made

possible. At about the beginning of the 19th century, European scholars studying Sanskrit noted

its resemblance in vocabulary to Latin and Greek. The comparison of vocabularies was extended

to other languages, and the idea of a common origin, an Indo-European parent language, was

soon established. This, in turn, led to the establishment of certain principles concerning the

sound changes that affected the forms of words in the different languages, that is, to the

formulation of the phonetic laws. In the case of loan words—words borrowed from other

languages—phonetic law is apparently violated, and it frequently happens that a language has

two or more words derived from a single word, one being a regular phonetic development, the

other a borrowed form. In this case the latter form, known by the French term mot savant, is

4

usually differentiated in meaning from the former. Thus, in French and English such words as

royal and regal are both from the Latin regalis, “kingly”; the form regal is borrowed directly

from the Latin, and royal (French roi, “king,” from the Latin accusative regem) is the

phonetically correct form. Loan words may also undergo the regular sound changes of the

language into which they have been adopted. For example, the Latin pondus, “pound,” appears

in Gothic and Anglo-Saxon as pund, with unchanged consonants, but in Old High German it is

subject to the action of Grimm’s Law and becomes phunt. Thus, in etymology attention must be

given to the history of words and sometimes to the records of the tribes speaking them. The

English wise (as in otherwise, in no wise) is akin to the Old High German wīs(a), modern

German die Weise; but wise is a doublet of guise, the form assumed by wīs(a) in the Romance

languages, which borrowed the word from the Germanic form. The same word thus may assume

different forms in the same language, and, conversely, different words may become identical in

form in a specific language. The large group of homonyms in every language is sufficient proof

of this process. An excellent English example of such a phenomenon is sound, which is a

conglomerate of several originally distinct words: Anglo-Saxon gesund, “hearty”; Anglo-Saxon

sund, “a body of water”; and Latin sonus, “noise.”

Etymology finds its principal application in the tracing back of words through an entire

group of allied languages to a hypothetical original form. The older etymologies made inaccurate

but plausible guesses along these lines; many etymologies that are perfectly sound, however,

seem at first sight implausible to those who are not acquainted with phonetic laws and the

principles of word formation. Etymology may be confined to a specific group of languages or

dialects. Thus, it is possible to refer to Romance etymology (in which words in the Romance

languages are traced back for the most part to folk-Latin originals), and to Germanic, Celtic, and

Indo-Iranian etymologies, among others. All these are combined in Indo-European, or Indo-

Germanic, etymology, which is the most thoroughly systematized and serves as a model for the

rest.

Accidental resemblances in sound are often mistaken for phonetic mutations or proof of

etymological kinship. The fact that the Latin taurus sounds like Arabic thaur, both meaning

“bull,” or that the English sheriff resembles in sound the Arabic sharif, “exalted,” also used of an

official of a city, implies no relationship.

Certain methods in tracing the etymology of a word have been formulated as follows.

1. The earliest form and usage of the word must be determined and its chronology respected.

2. History and geography should be followed; many words come into language through

propinquity or contact.

5

3. Phonetic laws must be respected, particularly in their application to consonants in the

Indo-European languages.

4. When two words in the same language are being studied for their related characteristics,

the word that has the fewer syllables must be taken at face value to be the earlier.

5. When two words in the same language are being studied for their related characteristics

and they both possess the same number of syllables, the earlier form can usually be determined

by the chief vowel sound.

6. Germanic strong verbs, like Latin irregular verbs, may be assumed to be primary and all

related forms to be derivative.

7. Resemblances in form, and even meaning, in unrelated languages should be ignored.

8. The explanation of an English word must also apply to its cognates.

The complete etymology of a word should account for its phonetic evolution, for its source, and,

if it is of foreign origin or if it is a conglomerate, for the origin of its various parts.

1.2 Semantics

Semantics (Greek semantikos, “significant”), the study of the meaning of linguistic signs— that

is, words, expressions, and sentences. Scholars of semantics try to answer such questions as

“What is the meaning of (the word) X?” They do this by studying what signs are, as well as how

signs possess significance—that is, how they are intended by speakers, how they designate

(make reference to things and ideas), and how they are interpreted by hearers. The goal of

semantics is to match the meanings of signs—what they stand for—with the process of assigning

those meanings.

Semantics is studied from philosophical (pure) and linguistic (descriptive and theoretical)

approaches, plus an approach known as general semantics. Philosophers look at the behavior that

goes with the process of meaning. Linguists study the elements or features of meaning as they

are related in a linguistic system. General semanticists concentrate on meaning as influencing

what people think and do.

These semantic approaches also have broader application. Anthropologists, through descriptive

semantics, study what people categorize as culturally important. Psychologists draw on

theoretical semantic studies that attempt to describe the mental process of understanding and to

identify how people acquire meaning (as well as sound and structure) in language. Animal

behaviorists research how and what other species communicate. Exponents of general semantics

examine the different values (or connotations) of signs that supposedly mean the same thing

6

(such as “the victor at Jena” and “the loser at Waterloo,” both referring to Napoleon). Also in a

general-semantics vein, literary critics have been influenced by studies differentiating literary

language from ordinary language and describing how literary metaphors evoke feelings and

attitudes.

PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES

In the late 19th century Michel Jules Alfred Breal, a French philologist, proposed a “science of

significations” that would investigate how sense is attached to expressions and other signs. In

1910 the British philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell published Principia

Mathematica, which strongly influenced the Vienna Circle, a group of philosophers who

developed the rigorous philosophical approach known as logical positivism (see Analytic and

Linguistic Philosophy).

Symbolic Logic

One of the leading figures of the Vienna Circle, the German philosopher Rudolf Carnap, made a

major contribution to philosophical semantics by developing symbolic logic, a system for

analyzing signs and what they designate. In logical positivism, meaning is a relationship between

words and things, and its study is empirically based: Because language, ideally, is a direct

reflection of reality, signs match things and facts. In symbolic logic, however, mathematical

notation is used to state what signs designate and to do so more clearly and precisely than is

possible in ordinary language. Symbolic logic is thus itself a language, specifically, a

metalanguage (formal technical language) used to talk about an object language (the language

that is the object of a given semantic study).

An object language has a speaker (for example, a French woman) using expressions (such as la

plume rouge) to designate a meaning (in this case, to indicate a definite pen—plume—of the

color red—rouge). The full description of an object language in symbols is called the semiotic of

that language. A language's semiotic has the following aspects: (1) a semantic aspect, in which

signs (words, expressions, sentences) are given specific designations; (2) a pragmatic aspect, in

which the contextual relations between speakers and signs are indicated; and (3) a syntactic

aspect, in which formal relations among the elements within signs (for example, among the

sounds in a sentence) are indicated.

An interpreted language in symbolic logic is an object language together with rules of meaning

that link signs and designations. Each interpreted sign has a truth condition—a condition that

7

must be met in order for the sign to be true. A sign's meaning is what the sign designates when

its truth condition is satisfied. For example, the expression or sign “the moon is a sphere” is

understood by someone who knows English; however, although it is understood, it may or may

not be true. The expression is true if the thing it is extended to—the moon—is in fact spherical.

To determine the sign's truth value, one must look at the moon for oneself.

Speech-Act Semantics

The symbolic logic of logical positivist philosophy thus represents an attempt to get at meaning

by way of the empirical verifiability of signs—by whether the truth of the sign can be confirmed

by observing something in the real world. This attempt at understanding meaning has been only

moderately successful. The Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein rejected it in favor

of his “ordinary language” philosophy, in which he asserted that thought is based on everyday

language. Not all signs designate things in the world, he pointed out, nor can all signs be

associated with truth values. In his approach to philosophical semantics, the rules of meaning are

disclosed in how speech is used.

From ordinary-language philosophy has evolved the current theory of speech-act semantics. The

British philosopher J. L. Austin claimed that, by speaking, a person performs an act, or does

something (such as state, predict, or warn), and that meaning is found in what an expression

does, in the act it performs. The American philosopher John R. Searle extended Austin's ideas,

emphasizing the need to relate the functions of signs or expressions to their social context. Searle

asserted that speech encompasses at least three kinds of acts: (1) locutionary acts, in which

things are said with a certain sense or reference (as in “the moon is a sphere”); (2) illocutionary

acts, in which such acts as promising or commanding are performed by means of speaking; and

(3) perlocutionary acts, in which the speaker, by speaking, does something to someone else (for

example, angers, consoles, or persuades someone). The speaker's intentions are conveyed by the

illocutionary force that is given to the signs—that is, by the actions implicit in what is said. To

be successfully meant, however, the signs must also be appropriate, sincere, consistent with the

speaker's general beliefs and conduct, and recognizable as meaningful by the hearer.

What has developed in philosophical semantics, then, is a distinction between truth-based

semantics and speech-act semantics. Some critics of speech-act theory believe that it deals

primarily with meaning in communication (as opposed to meaning in language) and thus is part

of the pragmatic aspect of a language's semiotic—that it relates to signs and to the knowledge of

the world shared by speakers and hearers, rather than relating to signs and their designations

8

(semantic aspect) or to formal relations among signs (syntactic aspect). These scholars hold that

semantics should be restricted to assigning interpretations to signs alone—independent of a

speaker and hearer.

LINGUISTIC APPROACHES

Linguistic semantics is both descriptive and theoretical.

Descriptive Semantics

Researchers in descriptive semantics examine what signs mean in particular languages. They

aim, for instance, to identify what constitutes nouns or noun phrases and verbs or verb phrases.

For some languages, such as English, this is done with subject-predicate analysis. For languages

without clear-cut distinctions between nouns, verbs, and prepositions, it is possible to say what

the signs mean by analyzing the structure of what are called propositions. In such an analysis, a

sign is seen as an operator that combines with one or more arguments (also signs)—often

nominal arguments (noun phrases)—or relates nominal arguments to other elements in the

expression (such as prepositional phrases or adverbial phrases). For example, in the expression

“Bill gives Mary the book,””gives” is an operator that relates the arguments “Bill,””Mary,” and

“the book.”

Whether using subject-predicate analysis or propositional analysis, descriptive semanticists

establish expression classes (classes of items that can substitute for one another within a sign)

and classes of items within the conventional parts of speech (such as nouns and verbs). The

resulting classes are thus defined in terms of syntax, and they also have semantic roles; that is,

the items in these classes perform specific grammatical functions, and in so doing they establish

meaning by predicating, referring, making distinctions among entities, relations, or actions. For

example, “kiss” belongs to an expression class with other items such as “hit” and “see,” as well

as to the conventional part of speech “verb,” in which it is part of a subclass of operators

requiring two arguments (an actor and a receiver). In “Mary kissed John,” the syntactic role of

“kiss” is to relate two nominal arguments (“Mary” and “John”), whereas its semantic role is to

identify a type of action. Unfortunately for descriptive semantics, however, it is not always

possible to find a one-to-one correlation of syntactic classes with semantic roles. For instance,

“John” has the same semantic role—to identify a person—in the following two sentences: “John

is easy to please” and “John is eager to please.” The syntactic role of “John” in the two

sentences, however, is different: In the first, “John” is the receiver of an action; in the second,

“John” is the actor.

9

Linguistic semantics is also used by anthropologists called ethnoscientists to conduct formal

semantic analysis (componential analysis) to determine how expressed signs—usually single

words as vocabulary items called lexemes—in a language are related to the perceptions and

thoughts of the people who speak the language. Componential analysis tests the idea that

linguistic categories influence or determine how people view the world; this idea is called the

Whorf hypothesis after the American anthropological linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf, who

proposed it. In componential analysis, lexemes that have a common range of meaning constitute

a semantic domain. Such a domain is characterized by the distinctive semantic features

(components) that differentiate individual lexemes in the domain from one another, and also by

features shared by all the lexemes in the domain. Such componential analysis points out, for

example, that in the domain “seat” in English, the lexemes “chair,””sofa,””loveseat,” and

“bench” can be distinguished from one another according to how many people are

accommodated and whether a back support is included. At the same time all these lexemes share

the common component, or feature, of meaning “something on which to sit.”

Linguists pursuing such componential analysis hope to identify a universal set of such semantic

features, from which are drawn the different sets of features that characterize different languages.

This idea of universal semantic features has been applied to the analysis of systems of myth and

kinship in various cultures by the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. He showed that

people organize their societies and interpret their place in these societies in ways that, despite

apparent differences, have remarkable underlying similarities.

Theoretical Semantics

Linguists concerned with theoretical semantics are looking for a general theory of meaning in

language. To such linguists, known as transformational-generative grammarians, meaning is part

of the linguistic knowledge or competence that all humans possess. A generative grammar as a

model of linguistic competence has a phonological (sound-system), a syntactic, and a semantic

component. The semantic component, as part of a generative theory of meaning, is envisioned as

a system of rules that govern how interpretable signs are interpreted and determine that other

signs (such as “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously”), although grammatical expressions, are

meaningless—semantically blocked. The rules must also account for how a sentence such as

“They passed the port at midnight” can have at least two interpretations.

Generative semantics grew out of proposals to explain a speaker's ability to produce and

understand new expressions where grammar or syntax fails. Its goal is to explain why and how,

10

for example, a person understands at first hearing that the sentence “Colorless green ideas sleep

furiously” has no meaning, even though it follows the rules of English grammar; or how, in

hearing a sentence with two possible interpretations (such as “They passed the port at

midnight”), one decides which meaning applies.

In generative semantics, the idea developed that all information needed to semantically interpret

a sign (usually a sentence) is contained in the sentence's underlying grammatical or syntactic

deep structure. The deep structure of a sentence involves lexemes (understood as words or

vocabulary items composed of bundles of semantic features selected from the proposed universal

set of semantic features). On the sentence's surface (that is, when it is spoken) these lexemes will

appear as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech—that is, as vocabulary items. When

the sentence is formulated by the speaker, semantic roles (such as subject, object, predicate) are

assigned to the lexemes; the listener hears the spoken sentence and interprets the semantic

features that are meant.

Whether deep structure and semantic interpretation are distinct from one another is a matter of

controversy. Most generative linguists agree, however, that a grammar should generate the set of

semantically well-formed expressions that are possible in a given language, and that the

grammar should associate a semantic interpretation with each expression.

Another subject of debate is whether semantic interpretation should be understood as

syntactically based (that is, coming from a sentence's deep structure); or whether it should be

seen as semantically based. According to Noam Chomsky, an American scholar who is

particularly influential in this field, it is possible—in a syntactically based theory—for surface

structure and deep structure jointly to determine the semantic interpretation of an expression.

GENERAL SEMANTICS

The focus of general semantics is how people evaluate words and how that evaluation influences

their behavior. Begun by the Polish American linguist Alfred Korzybski and long associated

with the American semanticist and politician S. I. Hayakawa, general semantics has been used in

efforts to make people aware of dangers inherent in treating words as more than symbols. It has

been extremely popular with writers who use language to influence people's ideas. In their work,

these writers use general-semantics guidelines for avoiding loose generalizations, rigid attitudes,

inappropriate finality, and imprecision. Some philosophers and linguists, however, have

criticized general semantics as lacking scientific rigor, and the approach has declined in

popularity.

11

1.3 General overview of medical terminology Every profession has its jargon, a specialized language that allows for quick, efficient

communication between members of the same profession while minimizing the potential for

misunderstandings. Jargon is not unique to professions.

We are going to give general information about jargon, slang and their differences.

Jargon (language), vocabulary used by a special group or occupational class, usually only

partially understood by outsiders. The special vocabularies of medicine, law, banking, science

and technology, education, military affairs, sports, and the entertainment world all fall under the

heading of jargon. Examples of occupational jargon include such formal technical expressions as

perorbital hematoma (black eye, to the layperson), in medicine, and escrow and discount rate, in

finance, and informal terms such as licorice stick (clarinet, among jazz musicians). Cant,

sometimes defined as false or insincere language, also (like argot) refers to the jargon and slang

used by thieves and beggars and the underworld. Colorful terms and phrases such as mug (either

a police photograph or to attack a victim), payola (graft or blackmail), hooker (prostitute), and to

rub out or to blow away (to kill) are examples of cant that eventually became commonly known

to, and adopted as slang by society in general.

Some writers reserve the term jargon for technical language. Applied to colorful occupational

expressions such as licorice stick, the concepts of jargon and slang overlap greatly. In general,

however, slang is more casual and acceptable to outsiders than jargon. Slang and cant are more

vivid than jargon, with a greater turnover in vocabulary. The special in-group speech of young

people and of members of distinct ethnic groups is generally called slang, especially when it is

understood by outsiders. Some writers use the term argot in a generalized way that covers cant,

in-group slang, and occupational jargon—no uniform terminology has been adopted for these

common ways of using language. The term jargon, however, also pertains in general to gibberish

and unintelligible language and to overinflated, needlessly technical language. In addition, it can

refer to specific dialects resulting from a mix of several languages (as in Chinook Jargon, used

by Native American traders).

Slang, informal, nonstandard words and phrases, generally shorter lived than the expressions of

ordinary colloquial speech, and typically formed by creative, often witty juxtapositions of words

or images. Slang can be contrasted with jargon (technical language of occupational or other

groups) and with argot or cant (secret vocabulary of underworld groups), but the borderlines

separating these categories from slang are greatly blurred, and some writers use the terms cant,

argot, and jargon in a general way to include all the foregoing meanings.

12

ORIGINS

Slang tends to originate in subcultures within a society. Occupational groups (for example,

loggers, police, medical professionals, and computer specialists) are prominent originators of

both jargon and slang; other groups creating slang include the armed forces, teenagers, racial

minorities, ghetto residents, labor unions, citizens-band radio broadcasters, sports groups, drug

addicts, criminals, and even religious denominations (Episcopalians, for example, produced

spike, a High Church Anglican). Slang expressions often embody attitudes and values of group

members. They may thus contribute to a sense of group identity and may convey to the listener

information about the speaker's background. Before an apt expression becomes slang, however,

it must be widely adopted by members of the subculture. At this point slang and jargon overlap

greatly. If the subculture has enough contact with the mainstream culture, its figures of speech

become slang expressions known to the whole society. For example, cat (a sport), cool (aloof,

stylish), Mr. Charley (a white man), The Man (the law), and Uncle Tom (a meek black) all

originated in the predominantly black Harlem district of New York City and have traveled far

since their inception. Slang is thus generally not tied to any geographic region within a country.

A slang expression may suddenly become widely used and as quickly dated (23-skiddoo). It may

become accepted as standard speech, either in its original slang meaning (bus, from omnibus) or

with an altered, possibly tamed meaning (jazz, which originally had sexual connotations). Some

expressions have persisted for centuries as slang (booze for alcoholic beverage). In the 20th

century, mass media and rapid travel have speeded up both the circulation and the demise of

slang terms. Television and novels have turned criminal cant into slang (five grand for $5,000).

Changing social circumstances may stimulate the spread of slang. Drug-related expressions

(such as pot for marijuana) were virtually a secret jargon in the 1940s; in the 1960s they were

adopted by rebellious youth; and in the 1970s and '80s they were widely known.

USES

In some cases slang may provide a needed name for an object or action (walkie-talkie, a portable

two-way radio; tailgating, driving too close behind another vehicle), or it may offer an emotional

outlet (buzz off! for go away!) or a satirical or patronizing reference (smokey, state highway

trooper). It may provide euphemisms (john, head, can, and in Britain, loo, all for toilet, itself

originally a euphemism), and it may allow its user to create a shock effect by using a pungent

slang expression in an unexpected context. Slang has provided myriad synonyms for parts of the

body (bean, head; schnozzle, nose), for money (moola, bread, scratch), for food (grub, slop,

garbage), and for drunkenness (soused, stewed, plastered).

13

FORMATION

Slang expressions are created by the same processes that affect ordinary speech. Expressions

may take form as metaphors, similes, and other figures of speech (dead as a doornail). Words

may acquire new meanings (cool, cat). A narrow meaning may become generalized (fink,

originally a strikebreaker, later a betrayer or disappointer) or vice-versa (heap, a run-down car).

Words may be clipped, or abbreviated (mike, microphone), and acronyms may gain currency

(VIP, AWOL, snafu). A foreign suffix may be added (the Yiddish and Russian -nik in beatnik)

and foreign words adopted (baloney, from Bologna). A change in meaning may make a vulgar

word acceptable (jazz) or an acceptable word vulgar (raspberry, a sound imitating flatus; from

raspberry tart in the rhyming slang of Australia and Cockney London; (see Jargon). Sometimes

words are newly coined (oomph, sex appeal, and later, energy or impact).

POSITION IN THE LANGUAGE

Slang is one of the vehicles through which languages change and become renewed, and its vigor

and color enrich daily speech. Although it has gained respectability in the 20th century, in the

past it was often loudly condemned as vulgar. Nevertheless, Shakespeare brought into acceptable

usage such slang terms as hubbub, to bump, and to dwindle, and 20th-century writers have used

slang brilliantly to convey character and ambience. Slang appears at all times and in all

languages. A person's head was kapala (dish) in Sanskrit, testa (pot) in Latin; testa later became

the standard Latin word for head. Among Western languages, English, French, Spanish, Italian,

German, Yiddish, Romanian, and Romani (Gypsy) are particularly rich in slang.

14

Chapter Two. The Peculiarities of Translating English Medical Terms

2.1 The analysis of medical terms

There are two major categories of medical terms: descriptive- describing shape, color, size,

function, etc, and eponyms, literally "putting a name upon". The latter has been used to honor

those who first discovered or described an anatomical structure or diagnosed a disease or first

developed a medical instrument or procedure. Some examples of eponyms are fallopian tubes

(uterine tubes-Gabriello Fallopio) and eustachian tubes (auditory tubes-Bartolommeo Eustachii).

The problem with eponyms is that they give no useful information about what is or where to find

the item named. For instance, if a physician asks “The duct of Wirsung?”, the patient cannot

understand the real meaning of the expression which in fact means - the pancreatic duct. 

In recent times, the trend has been toward replacing eponyms with descriptive names. For this

reason, we will not spend time learning them. However, some things are known almost

exclusively by their eponym. Would you recognize "paralysis agitans" as Parkinson's disease?

Also, some descriptive terms have been deemed offensive or stigmatizing. As examples,

"mongolism" is currently called Down's syndrome and "leprosy" has all but been replaced with

Hansen's disease. By the way, eponyms are not unique to medical terminology.

Before we can start analyzing some new and interesting medical terms, we need to mention a

few fundamentals of how medical terminology is constructed as a language. 

There are three basic parts to medical terms: a word root (usually the middle of the word and its

central meaning), a prefix (comes at the beginning and usually identifies some subdivision or

part of the central meaning), and a suffix (comes at the end and modifies the central meaning as

to what or who is interacting with it or what is happening to it). An example may make better

sense. 

Word Root

therm = heat

hypothermia (less heat), thermometer (measuring heat)

Let us look at a real medical term and take it apart.   

 

15

myocarditis

(prefix) (root) (suffix)

myo = muscle card = heart itis = inflammation 

In the table above we have demonstrated the major parts of a medical term. Let us see how

prefix and suffix changes can alter the meaning of a term without changing its central meaning

by keeping the root the same. 

Prefix change:

myocarditis = muscle layer of heart inflamed

pericarditis = outer layer of heart inflamed

endocarditis = inner layer of heart inflamed

 A suffix  follows the end of a word and forms a new word. In medical terminology, a suffix

provides important clues about a word's definition. For instance, the suffix, 'pathy', means

disease. In most cases when you see a word ending in 'pathy', you know it refers to a disease, as

in the word 'angiopathy', which means disease of the blood vessels.

Suffix change:  

cardiologist   = a physician specializing in the heart

Cardiomyopathy = damage to heart muscle layer

Cardiomegaly = enlargement of the heart

Following, in no particular order, are frequently used word beginnings (prefixes) and word

endings (suffixes) used to make up many medical terms. We don not need to memorize whether

an item is a prefix or suffix, just what it means.

-itis = inflammation tonsillitis, appendicitis

-osis = abnormal condition cyanosis (of blueness, due to cold

16

or low oxygen)

-ectomy = to cut out (remove) appendectomy, tonsillectomy

-otomy = to cut into tracheotomy (to cut into the windpipe, temporary opening)

-ostomy = to make a "mouth" colostomy (to make a permanent opening in colon)

a/an = without, none anemia (literally no blood but means few red cells)

micro = small microstomia (abnormally smallmouth, see "stomy" in

colostomy above?)

macro = large macrostomia (abnormally largemouth)

mega/ -megaly

= enlarged megacolon (abnormally large colon = large intestine)

-scopy/ -scopic

= to look, observe colonoscopy (look into colon)

 

Just a few more that you will see and hear over and over again.

 

-graphy/ -graph

= recording an image mammography (imaging the breasts) 

-gram = the image (X-ray) mammogram

Whenever we see these endings, -graphy, -graph, -gram, they relate to recording an image such

as an X-ray,

CT or MRI

scan or a

written recording with pen and moving paper. Mammography is the process of recording, i.e.

the machine and procedure. Mammogram is the image itself, the X-ray. A recording of heart

activity is called an electrocardiogram using an electrocardiograph. A recording of brain activity

is an electroencephalogram and the medical procedure and machine is called

electroencephalography.

-ology/ -ologist

= study, specialize in cardiologist, nephrologist (study the heart, the kidneys)

17

To see a lung specialist, we would visit a pulmonologist. To see a specialist in nerve and brain

disease, make an appointment with a neurologist. If we have a bad eye infection, we may be

referred to an ophthalmologist.

Before we start learning specific medical terms for various systems of the body, we need to

know word roots that identify major organs in the body. Note in each example, we have used

some prefix or suffix we have already been introduced to.

Stomato = mouth stomatitis

Dento = teeth dentist

Glosso/linguo = tongue glossitis, lingual nerve

Gingivo = gums gingivitis

Encephalo = brain encephalitis

Gastro = stomach gastritis

Entero = intestine gastroenteritis

Colo = large intestine colitis, megacolon

Procto = anus/rectum proctitis, proctologist

Hepato = liver hepatitis, hepatomegaly

Nephro/rene = kidney nephrosis, renal artery

Orchido = testis orchiditis, orchidectomy

Oophoro = ovary oophorectomy

Hystero/metro =uterus hysterectomy, 

endometritis

Salpingo = uterine tubes hystosalpingogram

Dermo = skin dermatitis

Masto/mammo = breast mammography,

mastectomy

18

Osteo = bones osteoporosis

Cardio = heart electrocardiogram (ECG)

Cysto = bladder cystitis

Rhino = nose rhinitis (runny nose!)

Phlebo/veno = veins phlebitis, phlebotomy

Pneumo/pulmo = lung pneumonitis,

pulmonologist

Hemo/emia = blood hematologist, anemia

Note that some organs have more than one word root. Example: "masto" and "mammo".

Typically, one is derived from the Greek and one from Latin.

The word ending "-itis" is going to be used repeatedly.  It means inflammation. So an infected

cut is an inflammation.  "Pink eye" is an inflammation.  However, four things must be present to

define inflammation:  pain, redness, heat and swelling (dolor, rubor, calor and tumor in Latin!). 

But, inflammation of an internal organ such as the stomach or kidney must be defined by a

physician relying on signs and symptoms, and, possibly, the need for a biopsy (tissue sample) to

examine under a microscope by a specialist in identifying the causes of diseased tissues, a

pathologist. 

Speaking about etymology of medical terms it is appropriate to mention that most medical

terminology derives from Latin or Greek. We are going to present some examples of medical

terminology derived from these and other languages.

In addition, looking up a medical term into a dictionary we can find out the origin of word with

the help of abbreviations:

AS. = Anglo Saxon: gut AS. guttas = the bowels.

shoulder AS. sculdor = shoulder.

Gr. = Greek: acromegaly Gr. akron = tip or extremity, and megas = large.

adenoid Gr. aden = gland, and eidos = resemblance.

19

L. = Latin: acinus L. acinus = grape.

adipose L. adiposus; from adeps = fat.

ML. = Medieval Latin: bursa ML. bursa = a purse, hence any closed sac.

Mod.L. = Modern Latin: basilar Mod. L. basilaris = basal; originally from Gr. basis = a base.

serosa Mod. L. sersus = membrane giving off serum.

OE.= Old English: socket OE. socket = spearhead; from OF. soc = ploughshare. Later the meaning was transferred to mean a sheath or holder, the hollow into which something fits.

OF. = Old French: ameloblast OF. en = on, amel = enamel, and Gr. blastos = germ.

Fr. = French: bruit Fr. bruit = sound or noise.

There are some illustrative examples:

Esophagus comes from Greek words meaning "that which swallows what we eat".

Fallopian tubes. They are named after a 16th century Italian anatomist, Gabriello

Fallopio.

Placenta. It means a "flat cake" in Greek, simply describing its shape.

In order to understand the meaning of a medical term we should look at the whole word in

question. For example "pancytopenia." If we break it down into its various parts we get Pan-

cyto-penia. In this example, pan means "all" or "total," cyto refers to cells, and penia indicates a

deficiency. So the definition of pancytopenia is a deficiency of all blood cells.

Let us try another one. How about "lipodystrophy". Let us break it down. Lipo refers to fat;

trophy is talking about growth or development. And anything with the word dys in it has an

abnormality. Lipodystrophy: An abnormal development of fat.

Here is an even simpler one, "leukocyte." We have already mentioned that cyto refers to cells. If

we look up the definition of leuko, we will see that it means white. So a leukocyte would be a

white blood cell. It can be easy to understand what leukocytopenia means.

20

ConclusionsTo sum up this brief treatment of medical terms it is necessary to stress that in studying of

these words a linguist cannot be content with establishing the source, the date of penetration, the

semantic sphere to which the word belonged and the circumstances of the process of borrowing.

The medical terms have absorbed materials of the most varied origins but its center of gravity

lies in the sphere of the Greco-Latin tradition. It can be collected within the confines of a

homogeneous group of source or control languages, which not only represent the Greco-Latin

tradition in our time but also have likewise absorbed all significant medical terms radiated from

other languages.

In the large majority of cases, the medical terminology is built up of Latin and Greek or

Greco-Latin elements. It is not overall the contribution of any one language, not even of Greek

and Latin taken together, for it includes a considerable number of terms, which, though

21

consisting of classical elements, were completely unknown to the native speakers of both the

classical languages. Socrates spoke Greek all through his life but he never used the telephone

and did not know that the word for it comes from his mother tongue.

This year paper has dealt with etymology and semantics of medical terms in English.

The paper has provided comprehensive information concerning the origin of medical terms,

supplying with illustrative examples taken from ‘Medical Etymology. The History and

Derivations of Medical Terms for Students of Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing’ By: O.H. Perry

Pepper.

Moreover, we have taken into consideration word formation patterns: prefix, root and suffix

in order to understand better the meaning of medical terms.

The year paper provide useful information for students who are interested in studying

medical terminology. Especially those who are engaged in the arduous process of studying in

order to reveal all the misunderstandings will appreciate the utility of the present work more.

However, it is in everyone's interest to be an insider when it comes to medical terminology,

the jargon of medicine. Being familiar with medical words makes your visit to the doctor less

intimidating and, more importantly, enables you to make sound decisions about your health care

in consultation with your family physician. 

Also it is an advantage to be able to better communicate with clients and physicians.

On this ground, the present work founds a claim to usefulness.

22

Bibliography1. Arnold I., Lexicology of English language Moscow 1986;

2. Campbell, Jeremy. Grammatical Man: Information, Entropy, Language, and Life. Simon

& Schuster, 1987. Overview relating language to human society.

3. Chomsky, Noam. Reflections on Language. Pantheon, 1976. The famous linguist's

challenging ideas on human intelligence and language.

4. Ducrot, Oswald and Todorov, Tzvetan. Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Sciences of

Language. Johns Hopkins, 1979. Fifty readable articles on schools, fields,

methodological and descriptive concepts; bibliographies.

5. Fodor, Jerry. A Theory of Content and Other Essays. MIT, 1990; 1992. Essays on

cognition and the psychology of content.

6. Garfield, Jay and Kiteley, Murray. Meaning and Truth. Paragon, 1990. Essential readings

for the understanding of semantics.

7. Hall, Edward T. The Silent Language. Doubleday, 1973; Greenwood, 1980. Original

analysis of patterns in culture and language in various ethnic groups.

8. International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Ed. by William Bright. 4v. Oxford, 1992.

"Articles on all known and extinct languages." Maps, a glossary, and topical articles are

also included.

9. Jakobson, Roman. On Language. Harvard, 1990. An influential scholar discusses his

theories of language acquisition and phonology.

10. Miller, John William. The Definition of the Thing: With Some Notes on Language.

Norton, 1983. Deals philosophically with problems of logic and language.

11. Pepper Perry. Medical Etymology. The History and Derivations of Medical Terms for

Students of Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing. Oxford, 2003

12. Williams, Patrick and Pearce, Joan Thornton. The Vital Network: A Theory of

Communication and Society. Greenwood, 1978. Defines communication in terms of

culture-language, literature, story systems, and institutions.

23

13. www.worldwidewords.org

14. www.wordquests.info

24