Orthopedic

How to spell orthopedic

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce orthopedic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does orthopedic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the branch of medicine concerned with bones, joints, muscles, and the correction of skeletal problems.

Orthopedic in a sentence

• The surgeon referred her to an orthopedic specialist for the knee injury.

• He bought an orthopedic mattress to ease his chronic back pain.

Where does orthopedic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to two Greek roots: orthos, meaning 'straight' or 'correct', and pais (with stem paid-), meaning 'child'. The two were joined in 1741 by the French physician Nicolas Andry, who wrote a book titled Orthopedie about correcting and preventing deformities in children, the idea being to keep a young body growing 'straight'. The term passed from French orthopedie into English in the eighteenth century, and over time it broadened well beyond childhood to cover the treatment of bones, joints, and muscles in patients of any age. The 'ped' element here comes from the Greek for child, the very same root found in 'pediatric', and is unrelated to the Latin pes, pedis ('foot') seen in 'pedal' and 'pedestrian', a coincidence that often causes confusion. The chief spelling trap is that older British usage preserves the Greek diphthong as 'orthopaedic', while the modern American and increasingly common simplified form drops it to 'orthopedic', so writers must decide whether to keep or omit that 'a' before the 'e'.

How the word is built

• ortho- (straight, correct)
• ped (from Greek pais, paidos: child)
• -ic (adjective suffix)

British and American spelling

Orthopedic is the American spelling. British English spells it orthopaedic.