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Glite Dictionary
sick call

sick call

1 5.7
A set time when soldiers report to a medic if ill
  • noun
  • /sɪk kɔl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : llamada de enfermos
  • Brook, I thought you were on sick call.
  • report to sick call

Everything has to be approved and I couldn't get on sick call for, you know, most things when I was sick and neither could most of my fellow soldiers.

Examples

  • Every morning, the soldiers lined up for sick call to report their ailments.

  • The rest of the men fell out for sick call, sir.

    Custer of the West (1967)

  • Each time a crew person reported for sick call, a report was filled out.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Everything has to be approved and I couldn't get on sick call for, you know, most things when I was sick and neither could most of my fellow soldiers.

    Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy

  • Reports included the reason for the sick call visit, treatment provided by the medical department, and patient disposition (e.g., return to full duty).

    Academic text (1993)

  • Sick-call visits to ships' medical departments during the study period were made only by personnel aboard the FFG.

    Academic text (1993)

  • During sick call, the medic checked each patient's symptoms before giving treatment.

  • The sergeant reminded the troops that sick call would start at 0800 hours.

Synonyms

sick parade
vssick call
  • Jargon
8.2

A daily military meeting where soldiers report illnesses to a doctor

is the scheduled time for personnel to report illness to a medical officer

Surface Forms

sick call singular
sick calls plural

Morphology

sick + call

The noun is compositional: 'sick' (ill) + 'call' (a summons/appointment) yields the sense 'a summons/appointment for the sick', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer a general meaning. However, the specific institutional/military sense — a designated daily time to report to medical staff — and the nominal use of 'call' as a scheduled session may not be fully predictable without exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Sick call comes from army life: soldiers who were unwell were told to gather at a set time so the medic could see them. The word sick shows who the meeting is for and call means a roll call or meeting, so it came to mean 'a time to report as ill'.