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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
One of the spellingbee words. Patients in OPD amused us by saying "yellow jaundice". Actually there can be bile retention with bluish tint. I saw a dany case in a Chinese restaurant in 1947. He had "doigts en baguettes de tambour", and was bluish green, not yellow. I think it was a combination of jaundice and methemoglobinemia. Incidentally, the restaurant across the street was named Hung Far Low. Honest. But what puzzles me is I can't see any association of "icteric" with the color yellow. Jaundice is easy, French "jaune" is yellow. But what color clue resides in "icteric"
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
The only thing I could find on Onelook was that "icteric" came from the Greek "ikteros" meaning simply "jaundice." I googled "ikteros" and read a few hits, but, again, only read that "ikteros" was Greek for "jaundice." Apparently it's used to mean "yellow" in some avian species.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Per my Greek dictionary, ikteros is the name of a bird of a yellowish green colour by looking at which a jaundiced person was cured; the bird died! Related words (ikteriau, ikterikos) have meanings related to jaundice but ikterias means a yellowish kind of stone.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Any connection between the "ic" in "icteric" and the "ic" in "rictus"? Probably not, but thought I'd ask.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
whoops doubled up, sorry Bingley
Bingley
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
According to the Liddle and Scott entry on ikteros ( http:// makeashorterlink.com/?A25E217A2) Pliny the Elder identifies the ikteros with the bird we now as the golden oriole. Bingley
Bingley
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,592 Likes: 1
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,592 Likes: 1 |
Even closer might be the word for seizure, which is "ictus". Any connection found?
And exploiting my famous looseness of association: icterus ==> ictus ==> seizure ==> seize the moment ==> carpe diem ("Seize the day!") ==> carpals are wristbones ==> ==> is that because we use the wrist to seize objects with? (well, sort of, by exension, almost, maybe)
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
use the wrist to seize objects with?
You use your wrists? You might find that fingers work a little better.
Carpal traces back through Greek karpos, wrist, to IE kwerp-. No mention of carpere.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Bingley,
I couldn't get your link to come up.
I got the impression from reading about ikteros on Google that ikteros = jaundice, not that ikteros = yellow.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
ikteros = jaundice, not that ikteros = yellow
Hey! Jaundice = yellow
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