What's the difference between ill and sick?
David Stewart
A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
ailment. Is there any truth in this?
Alasdair Baxter
In article <31C1DD...@dircon.co.uk>
dste...@dircon.co.uk "David Stewart" writes:
Ill is the opposite of "well", presumably an archaic adverb from "bad" just
as "well" is the adverb from "good".
"Sick", on the other hand means suffering from a medical condition. It may
be of gastric origin but not necessarily. When you are ill in the UK, you
can claim "sickness benefit" and the medical certificate supplied by the
doctor to enable one to claim theis benefit is colloquially called a
"sick note" in England. Other expressions meaning the same thing are
"poorly", "not well". "Sick", in some parts means more specifically,
vomiting.
--
Alasdair Baxter, Nottingham, UK. Tel: +44 115 970 5100; Fax: +44 115 9423263.
"It's not what you say that matters but how you say it.
It's not what you do that matters but how you do it".
Pierre Jelenc
David Stewart <dste...@dircon.co.uk> writes:
> A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
> being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
> stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
> ailment. Is there any truth in this?
That seems to be the British view.
In America, "sick" is a synonym of "ill", and is by far the more common
term.
Pierre
--
Pierre Jelenc Know what's weird? Day by day nothing seems to
rc...@panix.com change, but pretty soon everything is different.
pie...@nycbeer.org Calvin & Hobbes
http://www.columbia.edu/~pcj1/
Polar
>A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
>being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
>stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
>ailment. Is there any truth in this?
No. "ill" just sounds a little more "elegant". Your friend is
confused by "sick to my stomach".
Polar
alan auerbach F
No.
--
Al.
Ruth Bygrave
s.m...@ix.netcom.com (Polar) wrote:
><dste...@dircon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
>>being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
>>stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
>>ailment. Is there any truth in this?
>
>No. "ill" just sounds a little more "elegant". Your friend is
>confused by "sick to my stomach".
Bzzt! Wrong! As someone has already posted, it is normal BrE usage to
use "sick" (in non-metaphorical contexts) to refer to nausea/vomiting,
and "ill" to refer to other illnesses. There are obvious exceptions in
phrases like "off sick" and "sick note" but in general "sick" carries
an implication of nausea/vomiting that "ill" does not. D. Stewart is
posting from a .uk address, therefore the "friend" is probably right.
In the US, apparently, there is no such distinction, and people use
"sick to my stomach" to make it clear they are talking about vomiting
rather than other forms of illness.
\/\/oof (... do Merkin kids also use "sick" as a synonym for vomit,
like Brit kids?...) B.
Truly Donovan
David Stewart wrote:
>
> A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
> being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
> stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
> ailment. Is there any truth in this?
Not in America. When the Jets sang "We are sick, we are sick" they
weren't complaining of nausea.
Truly Donovan
Keith C. Ivey
rbyg...@anglianet.co.uk (Ruth Bygrave) wrote:
>\/\/oof (... do Merkin kids also use "sick" as a synonym
>for vomit, like Brit kids?...) B.
Not that I've ever heard. Over here, the word is only an
adjective.
Keith C. Ivey <kci...@cpcug.org> Washington, DC
Contributing Editor/Webmaster
The Editorial Eye <http://www.eei-alex.com/eye/>
Markus Laker
David Stewart <dste...@dircon.co.uk> wrote:
> A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
> being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
> stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
> ailment. Is there any truth in this?
In America, 'sick' is more or less a synonym for 'ill'. In Britain, COD9
gives its primary meaning as 'vomiting or tending to vomit', and relegates
the more general 'ill' to second place. It then adds a usage note:
In British usage, the predicative use of the adjective 'sick' in sense 2,
to mean 'ill', as in 'He had to cancel his holiday because he was sick',
is still considered non-standard by some people, although it is
standard in American English. The exception to this is 'off sick'
('away on sick leave'), which is acceptable in British English.
Since nobody else has mentioned it, I'll add that in British English, 'sick'
can mean 'mentally twisted'. Child abuse or granny-bashing would typically
be described as 'sick', as might somebody who engaged in them.
--
Markus Laker.
Polar
On Sat, 15 Jun 1996 16:48:32 GMT, la...@tcp.co.uk (Markus Laker)
wrote:
>David Stewart <dste...@dircon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>[...]
>Since nobody else has mentioned it, I'll add that in British English, 'sick'
>can mean 'mentally twisted'. Child abuse or granny-bashing would typically
>be described as 'sick', as might somebody who engaged in them.
Same usage in the U.S. Can be applied to distasteful actions &
attitudes, even short of those listed by Markus.
We would also apply "sick" to distasteful, twisted humor, as in:
"That's a sick joke."
Polar
Colin Mahoney
[...]
>
>Since nobody else has mentioned it, I'll add that in British English, 'sick'
>can mean 'mentally twisted'. Child abuse or granny-bashing would typically
>be described as 'sick', as might somebody who engaged in them.
>
And how about 'to be sick about' something, to mean to regret
strongly, and the corresponding expression 'as sick as a parrot'.
Talking of which, does anyone know the origin of the latter?
>
>--
>Markus Laker.
>
---------------------------------------
Colin Mahoney ( cmah...@readysoft.es )
Sabadell, Spain
---------------------------------------
KJBlake
In article <31C1DD...@dircon.co.uk>, David Stewart
<dste...@dircon.co.uk> writes:
>A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
>being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
>stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
>ailment. Is there any truth in this?
No.
Rainer Thonnes
In article <4pssk4$7...@panix2.panix.com>, rc...@panix.com (Pierre Jelenc) writes:
> David Stewart <dste...@dircon.co.uk> writes:
> > A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
> > being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
> > stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
> > ailment. Is there any truth in this?
>
>
> In America, "sick" is a synonym of "ill", and is by far the more common
> term.
In the Britsh view, "suffering from a stomach complaint" would be putting
it mildly. Here, "to be sick" actually means, more often than not, "to
vomit", and to feel sick is to feel as if one is about to be sick.
Cf. seasick
Rainer Thonnes
In article <4pucmg$8...@news3.digex.net>,
kci...@cpcug.org (Keith C. Ivey) writes:
> rbyg...@anglianet.co.uk (Ruth Bygrave) wrote:
>
> >\/\/oof (... do Merkin kids also use "sick" as a synonym
> >for vomit, like Brit kids?...) B.
>
> Not that I've ever heard. Over here, the word is only an
> adjective.
Not necessarily. Having drunk his milk rather too hastily, the cat was
sick all over the floor. Then he licked it all up again. Licked what
up again? - His sick.
Bob Cunningham
kjb...@aol.com (KJBlake) wrote:
>In article <31C1DD...@dircon.co.uk>, David Stewart
><dste...@dircon.co.uk> writes:
>
>>A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
>>being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
>>stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
>>ailment. Is there any truth in this?
>
>No.
"No" is much too strong an answer. The word "any" in the
question precludes a "no" answer if there is one shred of evidence
that by some English speakers "sick" is used to describe a nauseated
condition only, while "ill" is used to describe any other condition of
unsound health.
Such evidence may be found in _The Random House Dictionary of the
English Language Second Edition Unabridged_, in the entry "ill" under
the heading "syn[onym]":
In England, sick is not interchangeable with ill,
but usually has the connotation of nauseous [sic]:
'She got sick and threw up'.
In school I was taught that you should never say someone is sick
unless they are vomiting or about to vomit, and that you should
describe someone as being ill if they are in any other form of unsound
health. I later observed that most speakers and writers do not follow
that prescription, and that in fact the word "ill" to describe a state
of bad health actually sounds pedantic. Nevertheless, it was taught
in my English classes, and it seems probable that it was taught in
many other English classes when English used to be taught in US
schools. That alone is enough to make a flat "no" in answer to David
Stewart's question untrue. There is clearly *some* truth in what his
friend said.
(Posted, e-mailed)
Mark Wainwright
r...@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Rainer Thonnes) writes
> kci...@cpcug.org (Keith C. Ivey) writes:
>> rbyg...@anglianet.co.uk (Ruth Bygrave) wrote:
>>> (... do Merkin kids also use "sick" as a synonym
>>> for vomit, like Brit kids?...)
>> Not that I've ever heard. Over here, the word is only an
>> adjective.
> Not necessarily. Having drunk his milk rather too hastily, the cat was
> sick all over the floor. Then he licked it all up again. Licked what
> up again? - His sick.
`Over here' meant `in the USA', which was what Ruth asked about. You
appear to be posting from an Edinburgh machine; which side of the Pond
are you referring to?
Mark Wainwright
--
========================================================================
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/maw13/ ma...@harlequin.co.uk
========================================================================
Wendell Cochran
In article <4pupks$1...@zeus.tcp.co.uk>, Markus Laker <la...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
.
.
.
>Since nobody else has mentioned it, I'll add that in British English, 'sick'
>can mean 'mentally twisted'. Child abuse or granny-bashing would typically
>be described as 'sick', as might somebody who engaged in them.
Seems to me that it's commonly used Stateside, too, as when someone says,
dismissively, 'You're _sick_.'
Wendell Cochran atr...@eskimo.com
West Seattle
Gareth Williams
Thus spake cmah...@super.zippo.com (Colin Mahoney) :
+
+And how about 'to be sick about' something, to mean to regret
+strongly, and the corresponding expression 'as sick as a parrot'.
+
+Talking of which, does anyone know the origin of the latter?
It is claimed that in the 17th/18th century there was a phrase
'as melancholy as a sick parrot' (plays of Aphra Behn eg)
Desmond Morris (1986) claims the original is 'sick as a parrot with a
rubber beak'
[Dictionary of Phrase and Allusion]
I prefer the former as the original ... have you ever seen how sad a
sick parrot looks
regards
Gareth Williams <g...@fmode.demon.co.uk>
Polar
On Wed, 19 Jun 1996 10:21:56 -0700, Matthew Rabuzzi
<rab...@loc251.tandem.com> wrote:
>Subject: Re: What's the difference between ill and sick?
>References: <31C1DD...@dircon.co.uk> <31c20c02...@nntp.ix.netcom.com> <31c290f3...@newnews.anglianet.co.uk> <4pucmg$8...@news3.digex.net>
>
>Keith C. Ivey <kci...@cpcug.org> writes:
>: rbyg...@anglianet.co.uk (Ruth Bygrave) wrote:
>:
>: > ...do Merkin kids also use "sick" as a synonym for vomit, like Brit kids?
>:
>: Not that I've ever heard. Over here, the word is only an adjective.
>
>I've heard it as a verb, but used of pets rather than people:
>
>"Oh no! Mom, the dog sicked [sic; that is, not sicced!] on the carpet again."
>
Maybe that's a regionalism?
I've only heard/used "threw up", for people or animals.
Polar
Rainer Thonnes
In article <4q6b0e$5...@rocannon.cam.harlequin.co.uk>,> >>> (... do Merkin kids also use "sick" as a synonym
> >>> for vomit, like Brit kids?...)
> >> Not that I've ever heard. Over here, the word is only an
> >> adjective.
> > sick all over the floor. Then he licked it all up again. Licked what
> > up again? - His sick.
>
> `Over here' meant `in the USA', which was what Ruth asked about. You
> appear to be posting from an Edinburgh machine; which side of the Pond
> are you referring to?
Ours. My mistake. Sorry.
Raymot
In article <31C1DD...@dircon.co.uk>, dste...@dircon.co.uk says...
>
>A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
>being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
>stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
>ailment. Is there any truth in this?
No. At least in Australia, they are used synonomously in a
medical context such as above.
There is a euphemism "to be sick" meaning "to vomit", as in:
"Jason was sick twice yesterday, and todays he's not looking
at all well". Perhaps this is what your friend's referring too.
If you're trying to communicate with a doctor, nurse, etc,
it's best to avoid figurative language, and be as precise as
possible.
Raymot
[[[[[[[[
KJBlake
In article <31c84b1e...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, s.m...@ix.netcom.com
(Polar) writes:
>>"Oh no! Mom, the dog sicked [sic; that is, not sicced!] on the carpet
>again."
>>
>Maybe that's a regionalism?
>
>I've only heard/used "threw up", for people or animals.
What, you 've never heard the colorful phrase "delivering street pizza"?
Myles Paulson
In article <31c31bcf...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, Polar (s.m...@ix.netcom.com) writes:
>On Sat, 15 Jun 1996 16:48:32 GMT, la...@tcp.co.uk (Markus Laker)
>wrote:
>
>>can mean 'mentally twisted'. Child abuse or granny-bashing would typically
>>be described as 'sick', as might somebody who engaged in them.
>
>attitudes, even short of those listed by Markus.
>
>We would also apply "sick" to distasteful, twisted humor, as in:
>"That's a sick joke."
>
>Polar
Sick is a very old word, but I would bet its use in the context of
anti-social behaviour is pretty recent. Looks like dollar-book pop
Freud to me - 1930s vintage. It became a Hollywood B movie cliché
which is parodied in Kubrick's film of "Lolita". Any takers?
Oh, and in Austratia, you will still here "There's sick all over the
floor" (genteelism for vomit)
--
Myles Paulson <xexr...@wackydoo.dialix.oz.au>
John Savage
David Stewart <dste...@dircon.co.uk> writes:
>A friend has recently told me that to describe someone, or oneself, as
>being sick should mean specifically that they are suffering from a
>stomach complaint. The word ill should be used to describe any other
>ailment. Is there any truth in this?
It that "being sick", or being "sick"? (There's a marked difference.)
To report that a seedy person is "being sick" can usually be
taken as heralding the emergence of what fairground vendors
indifferently term "a pavement pizza".
Of course, I speak only of regional Oz English usage.
--
John Savage ko...@sydney.dialix.com.au