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medical aid

medical aid

4 2.3
Help from a doctor or nurse for illness and injury
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛdɪkəl eɪd/
translation icon : ayuda médica
  • We've got to have medical aid at the radar station when we get there.
  • medical aid station

Examples

  • The Friedman's Bureau had the task of providing food, shelter and medical aid for the destitute.

  • The practice of rendering medical aid to people with whom anthropologists live and work is widespread.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Captain, the Americans are asking if we need medical aid.

  • I was a medical aid worker.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • We are here to give medical aid to these people, and learn what's killing them.

  • Officers immediately rendered emergency medical aid to the victim until fire personnel arrived.

    Blog text (23)
  • Domestic disaster relief, for example, may initially involve medical aid and food and water distribution.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Less than $1 billion has gone to projects that directly help the Pakistani people by providing them with schools, food, or medical aid.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Chaplains who positioned themselves near the front lines often rendered medical aid to the wounded soldiers.

    Academic text (1991)
  • During the disaster, medical aid was crucial for the survivors who were injured.

Synonyms

treatment
vsmedical aid
  • Specialized
2.1

Care to cure or reduce a health problem

focuses on providing professional assistance rather than the procedures themselves
medical care
vsmedical aid
155 2.5

Help from doctors and nurses for illness or injury

is presented as professional assistance rather than full management or oversight

Antonyms

100 3.5

Not caring for someone or something that needs care

How Much

intensive care
  • Specialized
50 3.0
medical care
155 2.5
medical aid
4 2.3
first aid
61 2.0

Surface Forms

medical aid singular
medical aids plural

Morphology

medical + aid

The meaning 'assistance in the form of professional treatment' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'medical' (relating to medicine) with 'aid' (assistance). This simple compositional noun phrase follows regular English semantics and has direct equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Medical aid paints a simple picture: medical means care from doctors and nurses and aid means help, so imagine medical teams arriving with bandages and medicines to help the sick or injured after an accident or disaster. That's why it means 'professional help for illness or injury'.