Chirurgy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kaɪˈɹɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒi/

Definitions

1. A field of healthcare dedicated to surgical techniques for addressing illness or injury
2. A medical specialty that involves performing operative procedures for therapeutic purposes
3. The branch of medicine involving the manual and instrumental treatment of injuries or disorders through operative procedures

Etymology: "Chirurgy" is the older English form of "surgery," and the two words are doublets: they came into English by different routes from the same source. The Greek "kheirourgia" joined "kheir" (hand) and "ergon" (work), so the original sense was simply handwork. Latin borrowed it as "chīrurgia," and that Latin form passed into Old French as "cirurgie." English took that French word in the Middle Ages as "cirurgie," which became "chirurgy" with the spelling pulled back toward the Latin and Greek. The other route is the one that produced "surgery." Its shorter form came from Old French "serurgie," a later worn-down version of the same word, and that is the form that won out in everyday English, leaving "chirurgy" as a more learned variant. The spelling "chirurgy" keeps the Greek "ch" sound, which is why it looks so unlike its twin.

Synonyms: surgery, operation, procedure