palliative

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English palliatif,^[2] borrowed from Middle French palliatif, or directly borrowed from Medieval Latin palliativus,^[3][4][5] formed from palliātus, the past participle of Late Latin palliō (“to cover with a cloak, conceal”),^[6][3] from Latin pallium (“a cloak”),^[6] the source of pall.^[6] The French adjective is recorded from about 1314; the Medieval Latin one from before 1350 in a British source, and in 1363 in Guy de Chauliac.^[3] Merriam-Webster gives it as French, from the Late Latin participle and the French suffix -if.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Serving to relieve the symptoms of a disease without curing its cause: probably before 1425, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie.^[3][2] The Middle English word also translated a sense "covering, concealing".^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

A sense "that cloaks or conceals" is recorded from 1611 to 1656.^[3] From 1748, in Richardson's Clarissa, the adjective also meant serving to excuse or extenuate an offence;^[3] Etymonline dates this to 1779.^[6] Johnson (1755) gave both senses: extenuating, and mitigating without removing, a "palliative cure".^[8] The noun is recorded from 1656 for a treatment giving temporary relief, from 1735 in Swift for something that eases a painful situation; for an excuse it dates from 1747.^[3] Etymonline dates the noun to 1724.^[6] The phrase palliative care is used of the care of the terminally ill and their families.^[4][9]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – relieving symptoms without curing.^[3][2]
• 1611 – cloaking, concealing (obsolete by 1656).^[3]
• 1656 – noun, a treatment that gives temporary relief.^[3][7] Etymonline dates the noun to 1724.^[6]
• 1735 – noun, something that eases a painful situation.^[3]
• 1748 – serving to excuse or extenuate an offence.^[3]
• 1750 – easing emotional distress, in Johnson's Rambler.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (medicine) Relieving the symptoms of a disease or condition without curing it, especially when it is terminal: palliative treatment.^{[7][9][10][3]}
2. Serving to palliate; easing or mitigating pain or distress.^[9][3]
3. Serving to excuse or extenuate an offence.^[3][4]

Noun

1. Something that relieves without curing, such as a sedative drug: The pills were only a palliative.^{[10][7][9][3]}
2. Something that eases a painful situation without solving it.^[3][4]

Word family

• palliatively
• nonpalliative

Related words

• palliate
• pall

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins