Pediatry

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The branch of medicine concerned with the health, development and diseases of infants, children and adolescents
2. A medical specialty focused on caring for young patients from birth through adolescence and their growth needs
3. The field of medical practice devoted to treating children and monitoring their physical and mental wellbeing

Etymology: "Pediatry" is the American spelling of "paediatry," a medical term built from two Greek-derived pieces. The first, "paed-" (or "ped-"), comes from Greek "pais," meaning child, the same root that gives English "pediatric" and the child-centered "pedagogy." The second, "-iatry," comes from Greek "iatreia," meaning medical treatment or healing, and is the root behind "psychiatry" and "geriatrics," where "-iatry" marks a field of specialized medical practice. Put together, the word names the branch of medicine devoted to children's health and illness. Its ancient roots would not have covered a modern specialty like this one: the combination was assembled from classical building blocks to name a field that the Greeks themselves never organized this way. The only real surprise is how little the components have changed in meaning, since "child" and "healing" still mean what they meant in Athens.

Synonyms: pediatrics, paediatrics, child medicine