triage
/ˈtɹi.ɑʒ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.89 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Assessment or sorting according to quality, need, etc., especially to determine how resources will be allocated.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The process of sorting patients so as to determine the order in which they will be treated (for example, by assigning precedence according to the urgency of illness or injury).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A facility within a hospital that screens walk-in patients and determines which department or clinic to send them to. (See also triage center.)
Countable; Uncountable
verb
To subject to triage; to prioritize.
Example Sentences
- "Let us think of triage, and remember the word's origins. It began with French wool growers in the eighteenth century, but its most illuminating use comes from eighteenth century coffee bean growers, who sorted their beans into best, middling, and broken. The last category came to be known as 'triage coffee.' In war we attend to the most seriously wounded first, which is how most of [us] understand the word today. […] Therefore to protect the best and the middling, we must sell off our 'triage coffee.'"
- "[Mike Davis] notes that the 'late capitalist triage of humanity' has 'already taken place'."
- "I knew where most of the medical supplies were kept. I went to triage. The room was chaos."
- "Triage was busy and noisy, and suddenly I had no energy."
- "Using “Dr Google” for health purposes is controversial. Some have expressed concerns that it can lead to inaccurate diagnoses, bad advice on where to seek treatment (triage), and increased anxiety (cyberchondria)."
- "She was told to hydrate and try some Tylenol and if it got worse, she was recommended to go to triage for evaluation."
Etymology
Etymology tree French trier Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -age Middle French -age French -age French triagebor. English triage Borrowed from French triage, from trier (“to sort”).
Word Breakdown
- Root: *terh₁-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtɹi.ɑʒ/
- British English: /ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
e-triage
triage center