Afrikaans verpleegster | ||
Albanian infermierja | ||
Amharic ነርስ | ||
Arabic ممرضة | ||
Armenian բուժքույր | ||
Assamese নাৰ্ছ | ||
Aymara qulliri | ||
Azerbaijani tibb bacısı | ||
Bambara furakɛla | ||
Basque erizaina | ||
Belarusian медсястра | ||
Bengali নার্স | ||
Bhojpuri नर्स | ||
Bosnian medicinska sestra | ||
Bulgarian медицинска сестра | ||
Catalan infermera | ||
Cebuano nars | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 护士 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 護士 | ||
Corsican infermiera | ||
Croatian medicinska sestra | ||
Czech zdravotní sestřička | ||
Danish amme | ||
Dhivehi ނަރުހުން | ||
Dogri नर्स | ||
Dutch verpleegster | ||
English nurse | ||
Esperanto flegistino | ||
Estonian õde | ||
Ewe dᴐnᴐdzikpᴐla | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) nars | ||
Finnish sairaanhoitaja | ||
French infirmière | ||
Frisian ferpleechkundige | ||
Galician enfermeira | ||
Georgian მედდა | ||
German krankenschwester | ||
Greek νοσοκόμα | ||
Guarani mba'asy ñangarekoha | ||
Gujarati નર્સ | ||
Haitian Creole enfimyè | ||
Hausa m | ||
Hawaiian kahu maʻi | ||
Hebrew אָחוֹת | ||
Hindi नर्स | ||
Hmong tus nais maum | ||
Hungarian ápoló | ||
Icelandic hjúkrunarfræðingur | ||
Igbo nọọsụ | ||
Ilocano nars | ||
Indonesian perawat | ||
Irish altra | ||
Italian infermiera | ||
Japanese ナース | ||
Javanese mantri | ||
Kannada ನರ್ಸ್ | ||
Kazakh медбике | ||
Khmer គិលានុបដ្ឋាយិកា | ||
Kinyarwanda umuforomo | ||
Konkani नर्स | ||
Korean 간호사 | ||
Krio nɔs | ||
Kurdish nexweşyare | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) پەرستار | ||
Kyrgyz медайым | ||
Lao ນາງພະຍາບານ | ||
Latin nutrix | ||
Latvian medmāsa | ||
Lingala infirmier | ||
Lithuanian slaugytoja | ||
Luganda omusawo | ||
Luxembourgish infirmière | ||
Macedonian медицинска сестра | ||
Maithili दाई | ||
Malagasy mpitsabo mpanampy | ||
Malay jururawat | ||
Malayalam നഴ്സ് | ||
Maltese infermier | ||
Maori tapuhi | ||
Marathi परिचारिका | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯔ꯭ꯁ | ||
Mizo nurse | ||
Mongolian сувилагч | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သူနာပြု | ||
Nepali नर्स | ||
Norwegian sykepleier | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) namwino | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସେବିକା | ||
Oromo narsii | ||
Pashto نرس | ||
Persian پرستار | ||
Polish pielęgniarka | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) enfermeira | ||
Punjabi ਨਰਸ | ||
Quechua enfermera | ||
Romanian asistent medical | ||
Russian медсестра | ||
Samoan teine tausimaʻi | ||
Sanskrit उपचर | ||
Scots Gaelic banaltram | ||
Sepedi mooki | ||
Serbian медицинска сестра | ||
Sesotho mooki | ||
Shona mukoti | ||
Sindhi نرس | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) හෙදිය | ||
Slovak zdravotná sestra | ||
Slovenian medicinska sestra | ||
Somali kalkaaliye caafimaad | ||
Spanish enfermero | ||
Sundanese mantri | ||
Swahili muuguzi | ||
Swedish sjuksköterska | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) nars | ||
Tajik ҳамшира | ||
Tamil செவிலியர் | ||
Tatar шәфкать туташы | ||
Telugu నర్సు | ||
Thai พยาบาล | ||
Tigrinya ነርስ | ||
Tsonga muongori | ||
Turkish hemşire | ||
Turkmen şepagat uýasy | ||
Twi (Akan) nɛɛseni | ||
Ukrainian медсестра | ||
Urdu نرس | ||
Uyghur سېستىرا | ||
Uzbek hamshira | ||
Vietnamese y tá | ||
Welsh nyrs | ||
Xhosa umongikazi | ||
Yiddish ניאַניע | ||
Yoruba nọọsi | ||
Zulu umhlengikazi |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "verpleegster" (nurse) literally means "one who provides care (pleeg)" as the word contains the "zorg" root of the German word "sorgen" (to care). |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "infermierja" is derived from the French word "infirmière" and also means "sick nurse" or "female nurse". |
| Amharic | The term "ነርስ" can refer to either a "nurse" or a "sister" in Amharic. |
| Arabic | ممرضة in Arabic literally means a 'feeder,' or a 'female who cares for the sick'. |
| Azerbaijani | Tib bacısı is a compound word that means |
| Basque | The word "erizaina" in Basque may come from "eri" (sick) and "zain" (care), suggesting a caregiver for the ill. |
| Belarusian | The word "медсястра" is derived from the Russian word "медицинская сестра", which literally means "medical sister". |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "নার্স" (nurse) can also refer to a female domestic servant who cooks and cleans. |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian word "medicinska sestra" is composed of two parts: "medicinska", meaning "medical", and "sestra", meaning "sister." |
| Bulgarian | In Old Church Slavonic, the word "медицинска сестра" meant "nun" and "deaconess". |
| Catalan | In Catalan "infermera" comes from the Latin words "in" and "firmus", meaning "solid" or "firm". It refers to the strength and dedication of nurses, especially in difficult situations. |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "nars" can also refer to a "flower," particularly the "hibiscus" flower. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 护士 is also a term for a wet nurse or nanny, and in Chinese mythology it refers to an ancient female spirit associated with pregnancy and newborns. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character 護士, meaning 'nurse', is composed of the characters 護 (protect) and 士 (scholar), reflecting the traditional role of nurses as protectors and caregivers. |
| Corsican | "Infermiera" in Corsican is derived from the Italian word "infermiere", meaning "nurse", and can also refer to a "hospital attendant" or "caretaker." |
| Croatian | "medicinska sestra" literally translates to "medical sister," highlighting the historical gendered role of nurses. |
| Czech | The etymology of the Czech word "zdravotní sestřička" derives from the word "sestra", meaning "sister". |
| Danish | The Danish word "amme" can also mean "wet nurse" or "foster mother." |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "verpleegster" translates literally as "one who tends to the sick". |
| Esperanto | The word "flegistino" is derived from the Greek word "phlegistinos", meaning "burning" or "inflammable." |
| Estonian | The Estonian word õde, meaning 'nurse', also refers to female siblings and is used as a form of affectionate address for women more generally. |
| Finnish | Sairaanhoitaja derives from "sairaus" (illness) and "hoito" (care). In Northern dialects, "sairaanhoitaja" means a caretaker for the sick or elderly. |
| French | In Old French, 'infirmière' meant 'woman in charge of the infirmary'. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "ferpleechkundige" is a compound word, consisting of the words "ferpleech" (care) and "kundige" (expert). |
| Galician | The Galician word "enfermeira" is derived from the Latin "infirmarius", meaning "one who attends to the sick". |
| Georgian | In Georgian, "მედდა" can also refer to a nanny, indicating a broader caregiver role. |
| German | The term 'Krankenschwester' is composed of 'krank' ('sick') and 'Schwester' ('sister'), and was once used for women who cared for the sick in monasteries. |
| Greek | The word "νοσοκόμα" comes from the Greek words "νόσος" (disease) and "κόμα" (care), and it can also refer to a midwife or a caretaker. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word 'નર્સ' ('nurse') originates from the Latin word 'nutrire', meaning to nourish or feed, highlighting the nurturing role of nurses. |
| Haitian Creole | The term 'enfimyè' is a Haitian Creole word for a nurse that derives from the French word 'infirmière'. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word 'm' originally meant 'a female servant' or 'one who assists' before acquiring the meaning of 'nurse'. |
| Hawaiian | Kahu maʻi is derived from the words 'kahu' (keeper) and 'maʻi' (sick), implying a caretaker for the sick. |
| Hebrew | "אָחוֹת" is also the Hebrew word for "sister". In the Torah it mainly means "sister" and is often translated as such. |
| Hindi | The word "नर्स" comes from the Latin word "nutrire", meaning "to feed or nourish". |
| Hmong | Tus nais maum derives from "tus" which means woman and "nais maum" which means to take care. |
| Hungarian | The word "ápoló" originates from the verb "ápol", which means "to care for" or "to nurture". |
| Icelandic | {"text": "The Icelandic word for "nurse", hjúkrunarfræðingur, derives from the verb hjúkra (meaning "care, tend") and the noun fræðingi, originally denoting one skilled in Latin, theology or law"} |
| Igbo | Igbo word "nọọsụ" derives from "nọọ" (to be present) + "sụ" (to look after), emphasizing the caregiver aspect of nursing. |
| Indonesian | The word 'perawat' comes from the Sanskrit root 'vara', meaning 'to protect' or 'to care for'. |
| Irish | The word "altra" also means "fosterer" as in "foster mother" in Irish. |
| Italian | The Italian word "infermiera" derives from the Latin word "infirmus" meaning "weak" or "sick". |
| Japanese | ナース (naasu) is the Japanese word for nurse, derived from the English word "nurse," which is further derived from the Latin word "nutrix," meaning "wet nurse." |
| Javanese | Although "mantri" in Indonesian and Standard Javanese commonly means "nurse," in the dialect of Ngawi Regency, East Java, it can also refer to a midwife. |
| Kannada | The word "ನರ್ಸ್" in Kannada can also refer to a wet nurse. |
| Kazakh | Медбике translates as “honey lady”, as мед means “honey” and бике means “lady” in Kazakh. |
| Korean | The Korean word "간호사" also means "caregiver", and its origin dates back to the early 20th century when nurses were called "sick-watchers". |
| Kurdish | In the Kurdish dialect of Sorani, the word "nexweşyare" additionally means "a female who takes care of the sick in a hospital". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "медайым" also means "healer" or "helper" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | In Latin, the word "nutrix" can also refer to "wet nurse" or "caretaker." |
| Latvian | "Medmāsa" in Latvian originates from "māsa" meaning "sister", reflecting the role of nurses as caregivers. |
| Lithuanian | The word "slaugytoja" derives from the Lithuanian verb "slaugyti," meaning "to care for," and also has the alternate meaning of "one who cares for others spiritually or emotionally."} |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, 'Infirmière' is also used to refer to nuns who provide nursing care in hospitals or care homes. |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "Медицинска сестра" literally translates to "medical sister", highlighting the historical perception of nurses as female caregivers. |
| Malagasy | Derived from 'mpitsabo', meaning 'to cure', and 'mpanampy', meaning 'to help', signifying the combined roles of healing and aiding in nursing. |
| Malay | Jururawat' derives from Sanskrit and means 'to protect', indicating the caretaker role of nurses. |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, the word 'നഴ്സ്' can also mean 'to support' or 'to look after'. |
| Maltese | The term "infermier" is derived from the Italian word "infermiere" and the French word "infirmier", both ultimately stemming from the Latin word "infirmus", meaning "sick". |
| Maori | The word 'tapuhi' can also refer to a midwife or a healer in traditional Maori culture. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "परिचारिका" (nurse) originates from the Sanskrit word "परिचारक" (attendant, caretaker). |
| Mongolian | The word "сувилагч" has several alternate meanings such as "wet nurse" and "nanny." |
| Nepali | The word "नर्स" can also refer to a female servant or assistant in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | The word "sykepleier" derives from the Old Norse words "sjúkr" (sick) and "pléga" (care), suggesting someone who provides care to the sick. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word "namwino" can also refer to a traditional healer or medicine man. |
| Pashto | The word نرس is derived from the same Persian root as نارس "tender, soft", نر "male, stallion", and نرد "backgammon". |
| Persian | پرستار ('parastar') is a compound noun formed from 'par' meaning 'feather' and 'star' meaning 'bearer', referring to the care and nurturing provided by a nurse. |
| Polish | The Polish word "pielęgniarka" comes from the Old Slavic word "plegati", meaning "to care for". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "enfermeira" is derived from the Latin word "infirmare", meaning "to make weak". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਨਰਸ" ("nurse") in Punjabi also means "to nourish" or "to look after". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "asistent medical" can also refer to a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner. |
| Russian | The Russian word "медсестра" can also refer to a sister or a nun. |
| Samoan | Teine Tausimaʻi (nurse) is a compound noun meaning 'caregiver' or 'one who cares for the sick' |
| Scots Gaelic | The word 'banaltram' originates from the Gaelic word 'ban-altram' meaning 'foster mother'. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word 'medicinska sestra' derives from the Latin 'medicus' (physician) and 'soror' (sister), reflecting the historical role of nurses as caregivers and assistants to physicians. |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word 'mooki' also means 'one who is caring' or 'one who is compassionate'. |
| Shona | The word 'mukoti' can also refer to a midwife or a traditional healer. |
| Sindhi | The word "نرس" (nurse) originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ner-, meaning "to care for". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word also denotes a midwife or a female who takes care of children or the sick. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "zdravotná sestra" derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "zъdrъвъ", meaning "healthy" or "whole". |
| Slovenian | The word "medicinska sestra" is derived from the Latin word "soror", meaning "sister", and refers to the traditional role of nurses as caregivers. |
| Somali | The term "kalkaaliye caafimaad" is derived from the Arabic word "qālah," meaning "to speak," and the Somali word "caafimaad," meaning "health." |
| Spanish | "Enfermero" derives from the Latin "infirmus" meaning "weak" or "sick". |
| Sundanese | "Mantri" also means "doctor's assistant" in Javanese, and "official" in Sanskrit, Indonesian, and Javanese. |
| Swahili | The word "muuguzi" in Swahili derives from the verb "kuuga", meaning "to guard, protect, or watch over", hence the role of a nurse in caring for the sick. |
| Swedish | The word 'sjuksköterska' is derived from the Swedish words 'sjuk' (sick) and 'sköta' (to care for), and literally means 'one who cares for the sick'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "nars" in Tagalog can also refer to a nanny or a caretaker. |
| Tajik | "Ҳамшира" (nurse) means "sister" in Tajik, implying a close and caring bond between nurses and their patients. |
| Tamil | The word "செவிலியர்" also means "affectionate or caring person" in Tamil. |
| Telugu | In Telugu, 'నర్సు' does not just mean a 'nurse,' but also refers to the 'act of nurturing' or 'something that sustains life'. |
| Thai | The word "พยาบาล" also means "sick or ill" in Thai. |
| Turkish | The word "hemşire" is derived from the Persian word "hamşīrah", meaning "sister" or "female companion". |
| Ukrainian | "Медсестра" is a compound word formed from "мед" (honey) and "сестра" (female sibling), thus literally meaning "honey sister." |
| Urdu | In modern standard Urdu, نرس can also be a short form of نرسی ('young female') or نرِسا ('graceful) |
| Uzbek | "Hamshira" also refers to a woman with nursing experience or a female family/community member providing support in childcare. |
| Vietnamese | The word "y tá" in Vietnamese is of Chinese origin and originally meant "female doctor". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'nyrs' is also used to refer to female deities or spirits. |
| Xhosa | Umongikazi (nurse) has its origins in the word 'ukongela' (to watch over or take care of), and a nurse is often referred to as 'the one who watches over'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "nianye" comes from the German word "Nanny", which is a diminutive of the name "Anna". |
| Yoruba | The word "nọọsi" in Yoruba can also mean "to care for someone". |
| Zulu | The word 'umhlengikazi' can also refer to a traditional healer or midwife, due to the shared role of providing care and nurturing. |
| English | The word 'nurse' derives from the Latin word 'nutrix,' meaning 'nourisher,' and historically referred to women who cared for infants and children. |