SEMANTIC ENIGMAS



where did the term 'caesarean section' come from? The term is also similar in Dutch (when translated). Is this true in other languages as well? Jo McCarthy, Leamington Spa England Being by profession an Architect, I always understood that the method was used on Julius Caesar's mother to get him out while there was still time. Jack Hill, St Albans England Uk It is named after Julius Caesar who was "torn from his mothers womb" thus the operation of removing babies by cutting into the womb instead of by natural means was called "Caesarian" Ray Mitcham, Southport U.K. The term originates from Latin, caedere ("to cut"), by way of the interesting myth that Julius Caesar was delivered by this method. Flip Woolf, Frankfurt Germany In French the term is 'césarienne'. I also heard it was named after Julius Caesar. Gish, Paris France In French the term is 'césarienne'. I also heard it was named after Julius Caesar. Gish, Paris France From Encyclopedia Britannica Online: "According to ancient sources, the procedure takes its name from a branch of the ancient Roman family of the Julii, whose cognomen Caesar (Latin caedere, "to cut") originated from a birth by this means; some modern historians doubt that this is true." Kevin Hobbs, Glasgow UK This one is better than the chicken and the egg. ?Caesus? is the Latin for ?having been cut,? and some believe that this is the etymology of ?caesarian section,? a surgically assisted birth. Others believe that the term derives from the name ?Julius Caesar? because of a widespread but unsubstantiated belief that he was born through such a procedure. Bill Dunlap, Hamden, USA It is believed to come from a Roman law concerning the legal status of children born this way. Julius Caesar himself was not born this way, since it is known that his mother lived to a ripe old age, and the first Caesarean births which the mother actually survived only took place in the 18th century. Campbell McGregor, Partick, UK It is named after Julius Caesar. It is alleged that he was so born. Probably unlikely to be true as although caesarian births have been carried out since ancient times, in Rome it was usually only performed once the mother was dead. Caesar's mother lived for many years after his birth, hence the unliklihood. In German the word is Kaiserschnitt, the Emperor-cut. These Romans made their mark on medicine. I seem to remember that the technical name for a limp is claudication - after the emperor Claudius who walked with a bad limp. Bill Spring, Frankfurt, Germany I think it unlikely that Julius Caesar was born in this way. A woman would be very unlikely to have survived such a process in Roman times, and certainly not with fertility intact, yet Caesar's mother Aurelia was around well into his adulthood and he had two sisters, one of whom at least was younger than him. The process was of course in use from ancient times when a woman died in childbirth but the child might still live. Why Caesarian? I have a feeling there was a law called the Lex Caesarea which required this to be done if a pregnant woman died. Susan Deal, Sheffield, UK It's called the same in Arabic as well. It was so called because Julius Caesar was the one who legalised the delivery of the child of a dead mother when the tradition was to let the baby die if the mother died. TSH, UAE It was named Caesarian Section because Brutus cut-up Caesar into sections. Ken, Concord, CA US Since nobody seems to agree just where it originated, I'm going to continue to believe Julius Caesar until I can find valid PROOF otherwise. jdohe, McKee, Ky USA



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