-iatric Also -iatrical, -iatrics, -iatrician, -iatrist, and -iatry.
Medical practice or treatment.
[Greek iatros, doctor.]
Forms in -iatric are adjectives: geriatric (Greek gēras, old age), of the health care of old people; paediatric (US pediatric) (Greek pais, paid-, child, boy), of the care of children and their diseases; psychiatric (Greek psukhē, soul or mind), of mental illness or its treatment; -iatrical is a rarer equivalent (psychiatrical). Nouns for the medical specialisms are formed in -iatrics (geriatrics) or -iatry (psychiatry). Names for the specialists end in -iatrist (psychiatrist) or -iatrician (geriatrician). See also -ic, -ics, -ian, and -ist.
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