orthopedic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of orthopedic
First recorded in 1830–40; ortho- + Greek paid- (stem of paîs “child”; cf. ped-) + -ic
Explanation
An orthopedic surgeon is one who operates on bones and muscles to fix them. The word orthopedic comes from the Greek orthos meaning "straight, correct" and paideia meaning "rearing of children." The term was originally used for children and the kind of treatment they received for skeletal deformities like bow legs or knock-knees. An orthopedic shoe is one that is supposed to help correct the deformed bones and support the weakened muscles of a foot.
Vocabulary lists containing orthopedic
Flowers for Algernon
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Clean Getaway
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Merci Suárez Changes Gears
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An orthopedic surgeon also examined patients in person at the six-month follow-up.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Certain breeds are predisposed to heart or orthopedic issues, for example, that can be expensive to treat.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Their father, David, who played football at Dartmouth and became an orthopedic surgeon, welcomed the competition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
I’m wearing a helmet that looks chic rather than orthopedic.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
G’ma appears from behind the RV, clad in camo—the kind that looks like a forest floor—from the cap on her head to the top of her orthopedic Velcro sneakers.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
