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#88598 12/04/02 02:50 AM
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wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
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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"



#88599 12/04/02 03:03 AM
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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.


#88600 12/04/02 11:42 AM
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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.


#88601 12/04/02 01:18 PM
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Any connection between the "ic" in "icteric" and the "ic" in "rictus"? Probably not, but thought I'd ask.


#88602 12/04/02 02:16 PM
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whoops doubled up, sorry
Bingley


Bingley
#88603 12/04/02 02:16 PM
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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


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#88604 12/04/02 04:56 PM
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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)


#88605 12/05/02 11:15 AM
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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.


#88606 12/05/02 12:01 PM
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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.


#88607 12/05/02 01:46 PM
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ikteros = jaundice, not that ikteros = yellow

Hey! Jaundice = yellow


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