patient
- Able to wait for a long time or deal with difficult things without getting angry or upset.
- As a noun, a person who is receiving medical care from a doctor or hospital.
In a sentence
- She was patient with her little brother even when he kept asking the same question over and over.
- The doctor checked on every patient in the ward before finishing her rounds.
Usage note. When 'patient' is an adjective, it describes a person's behavior; when it's a noun, it specifically refers to someone receiving medical treatment—don't confuse the two in formal writing.
Where it comes from
English patient · entered English 14th c.
From Old French 'pacient' and directly from Latin 'patientem' (nominative 'patiens'), meaning 'bearing' or 'suffering,' from the verb 'pati' meaning 'to suffer or endure.' It entered English in the 14th century, with both the adjective and noun senses appearing close together.