paciente

patient

noun adjective pah-SYEHN-teh Less Common

Origin: From Latin 'patiens' (suffering, enduring), from 'pati' (to suffer).

Usage Note

Paciente is both an adjective ('patient', tolerant) and a noun (a medical patient). It is a common-gender noun: el paciente / la paciente — the article alone signals sex. As an adjective, it is invariable: un médico paciente, una enfermera paciente. The verb tener paciencia (to have patience) is preferred over saying someone 'is patient' in everyday speech.

Examples

"La paciente esperó dos horas en la consulta."

Natural Translation

The patient waited two hours in the surgery.

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