patient

[pey-shuh nt] /ˈpeɪ ʃənt/
noun
1.
a person who is under medical care or treatment.
2.
a person or thing that undergoes some action.
3.
Archaic. a sufferer or victim.
adjective
4.
bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like.
5.
characterized by or expressing such a quality:
a patient smile.
6.
quietly and steadily persevering or diligent, especially in detail or exactness:
a patient worker.
7.
undergoing the action of another (opposed to agent).
Idioms
8.
patient of,
  1. having or showing the capacity for endurance:
    a man patient of distractions.
  2. susceptible of:
    This statement is patient of criticism.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English pacient (adj. and noun) < Middle French < Latin patient- (stem of patiēns), present participle of patī to undergo, suffer, bear; see -ent
Related forms
patientless, adjective
patiently, adverb
patientness, noun
overpatient, adjective
quasi-patient, adjective
quasi-patiently, adverb
superpatient, adjective
superpatiently, adverb
unpatient, adjective
unpatiently, adverb
Synonyms
1. invalid. 4. uncomplaining, long-suffering, forbearing, resigned, passive, calm. 5. quiet, serene, unruffled, unexcited, self-possessed, composed. 6. sedulous, assiduous, untiring.
Antonyms
4. hostile. 5. impatient, agitated.
Examples from the web for patient
  • Meanwhile, two emergency medical technicians wheel an injured patient on a gurney into the hallway of a packed waiting room.
  • Medical centers are in a business with a mission on research, education and patient care.
  • Medical treatment, or even diagnostic examination, can cause adverse effects in a patient.
  • Conscience clauses allow pharmacists and physicians to refuse medical treatment, even when a patient's life is at stake.
  • In this patient the intolerance was severe, so the gas problem was, too.
  • Doctors often describe a sense of shock when they experience the medical system from a patient's perspective.
  • Some experts say medical residents are tasked to the point of exhaustion, putting patient safety at risk.
  • Why don't you guys just be patient and wait.
  • The surgeon grasped the limb tightly, since the wide-awake patient wasn't likely to sit still.
  • Hospitals routinely mandate documentation of a patient's pain.
British Dictionary definitions for patient

patient

/ˈpeɪʃənt/
adjective
1.
enduring trying circumstances with even temper
2.
tolerant; understanding
3.
capable of accepting delay with equanimity
4.
persevering or diligent: a patient worker
5.
(archaic) admitting of a certain interpretation
noun
6.
a person who is receiving medical care
7.
(rare) a person or thing that is the recipient of some action
Derived Forms
patiently, adverb
Word Origin
C14: see patience
Word Origin and History for patient
adj.

mid-14c., "enduring without complaint," from Old French pacient and directly from Latin patientem (see patience). Related: Patiently.

n.

"suffering or sick person under medical treatment," late 14c., from Old French pacient (n.), from the adjective, from Latin patientem (see patience).

patient in Medicine

patient pa·tient (pā'shənt)
n.
One who receives medical attention, care, or treatment.