You seem to hear it on all the television hospital dramas: “stat!” A physician says she knows it means “immediately,” but she doesn’t know its origins. Quick! Is there a Latin expert in the house? This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Origin of Stat”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Marie Salina calling from Durham, North Carolina.
So what’s on your mind today, language-wise, Marie?
I was wondering about the word stat, S-T-A-T. And then a physician would say the word scalpel stat or something to that extent.
Mm-mm—
Right, right.
Do you watch a lot of TV shows like and that kind of thing?
Well, yes, and I’m a physician myself. I always wondered where that word originated from.
So this is something you use every day, right?
No, not really. It’s usually…
Are you a dermatologist or something?
No. I mean, that’s kind of a leisurely profession, right, compared to some of them.
Okay, so you don’t work in an…
Some pimple cream right away.
Well, usually, I have actually rarely heard it said in real life.
Really?
You hear it much more on the doctor shows said than in an or an intensive care unit. It’s written more often than said.
So if you need a certain lab stat, which means any lab that’s being drawn, that needs to take priority or if you need a certain medication stat.
But I’ve really rarely ever heard it verbally said in real life.
Yeah, I knew that those TV shows were all wrong. Thank you for confirming that.
There’s no way that every episode they could have a man whose head was detached to the shoulders and then magically sewn back on and he walked home, you know?
There’s always some miracle. It’s just impossible, right?
You’re on to them.
Yeah, more mundane than that.
Well, Marie, I’m really glad you asked this question because there’s a really simple answer. And you might think that it’s an acronym or something, you know, like stop that and treat or something.
Exactly, yeah.
It’s not, though, right?
No, it’s not. But the answer is really easy. It comes from the Latin word statim, which means immediately.
S-T-A-T-I-M, right?
Right.
Oh, how about that?
So, Marie, we’re delighted that you asked us such an easy question. That’s always nice for a change.
Oh, thank you so much, doctor. We appreciate your call.
Thank you so much.
All right.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
I have some friends, Martha, who’ve done medical schooling, and most of the schools that I’ve heard of offer a class in Greek and Latin roots just for this very reason, so that the doctors can have a little kind of head start in interpreting language that they don’t encounter that often.
Oh, they absolutely should. That’s a great idea.
There’s so many medical terms that are so vivid, if you know the meaning. You know, the amygdala, they’re tucked inside your brain, that little organ.
Yeah. It comes from the Greek word for almond. And if you know that, then it’s easy to remember.
Of course, you need to learn Greek to know that.
I always just think of Princess Amidala from the Star Wars movies, but okay.
Well, if you have a question about language, call us STAT. The number is 1-877-929-9673.
That’s 1-877-929-WORD. Or you can send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.
