Probably because of the more common word "dentist".
this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2023
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That's because it's shorter, eye doctor is slightly shorter and easier to say and spell than opthamologist
counterpoint: paediatrician.
I think the 'easier to say' part is the key thing here. "Pee-dee-atrition" is a lot easier for most English speakers that "op-tha-mologist". I think the "th" throws people off enough to just say "eye doc"
It's even harder to spell than it is to say "ophthalmologist" What are the extra h and l doing there? I don't know. Most people forget them. Another English word not really pronounced like it's spelled. Trips me up every time I try to type it out. Optometrist, the non-MD eye doctor, much easier to say and spell.
I don't quite see it, but I'm used to saying opthamologist because of Tim Minchin and I'm not a native speaker. But seems plausible.
Well you could just shorten it and call them a paedo.
In the UK we see the optician. E z.
In the US at least, an optician is specifically a vendor of eyeglasses. The person who measures your vision and gives you the prescription is usually an optometrist. Neither of the above are physicians; whereas an ophthalmologist is a physician who treats eye diseases.
I'd argue it's magnitudes easier to say.
Funny, because in German it's exactly that: Tooth doctor (Zahnarzt).
The one that always bothered me is Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Arzt. Why is it Nasen? We only have one. It should either be Hälse-Nasen-Ohren Arzt or Hals-Nase-Ohren-Arzt.
I never thought about that. Now it bothers me too. Thank you.
I'm already trying to contact the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache. We can get this sorted.
Perfect!
I assume it's for the same reason you say Nasendusche, Nasenrücken or Nasenbluten but Halsschmerzen or Halstuch (though I'm not sure what's the exact grammatical reason). It has nothing to do with the number of noses. I think it would be Augenarzt and not Augearzt even if we had only one eye.
In Dutch it's the same, but we just say "KNO-arts", for "throat, nose and ear".
Tierarzt sounds normal but animal doctor sounds weird
But that's because you learned english and know it's called a vet. Direct word-for-word translations are often supposed to be weird because that's just not how it works.
Yes and y'all also use the French word for "curly" to say hair dresser... So.....
Optician? I've never heard "eye doctor" here in the UK
Technically a general eye doctor would be an opthalmologist. An optician is someone who makes lenses. The person you see for an eye test at the opticians is an optometrist (someone who measures what strength lenses you need).
Don't be an anti-dentite
Similarly, saying butt doctor doesn't have the same ring to it as proctologist, but either way they're checking for rings around Uranus.
Even worse is child doctor. I'm thinking of a child dressed as a doctor, not a paediatrician.
uh well where I live: https://emergencytoothdoctor.com/
they do in fact take care of emergencies too. They pulled a tooth for me on walk in.
Dentists and podiatrists don't go to med school in the US.
Podiatry School is a medical school. 4 years plus a 3 year residency.
Dentists go to teeth college