What are the origins of the word patient and its dual meanings?

[aceplace57]

Do Doctors have enough patience to treat patients?

Why is the person treated by a doctor a patient? How did the dual use evolve? Or is it the same word?

Patient -

bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2 : manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
3 : not hasty or impetuous
4 : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
5 : able or willing to bear —used with of

Definition of PATIENT

[Nava]

Per RAE, for the Spanish equivalent paciente, which also has both meanings: “from Latin patiens/patientis, active participle of pati, to suffer”. For paciencia (patience), “from Latin patientia”.

So it looks like it comes from Latin and now the question is whether it evolved from something else even older, and/or which meaning came first.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Etymonline.com:

patience (n.)
c.1200, “quality of being patient in suffering,” from Old French pacience “patience; sufferance, permission” (12c.) and directly from Latin patientia “patience, endurance, submission; quality of suffering,” from patientem (nominative patiens), present participle of pati “to suffer, endure,” from PIE root *pe(i)- “to damage, injure, hurt”

All the way back to Proto-Indo-European. One of the oldest words we have.

Patient is a slightly newer derivative in both senses:

patient (n.)
“suffering or sick person under medical treatment,” late 14c., from Old French pacient (n.), from the adjective, from Latin patientem (see patience).

patient (adj.)
mid-14c., “enduring without complaint,” from Old French pacient and directly from Latin patientem (see patience). Related: Patiently.

[johnpost]

waiting for medical care is nothing new, there used to be old discarded stone tablets in the waiting room. that is why they come from the same word.

i think the noun came later.

[aceplace57]

I wasn’t sure if the word was a homophone.

I can see the connection between suffering/enduring and a person that a doctor treats. He’s curing the suffering.

At least for awhile until the bill arrives.