pa·tient

[pey-shuhnt]
noun
1.
a person who is under medical care or treatment.
2.
a person or thing that undergoes some action.
3.
Archaic. a sufferer or victim.
adjective
4.
bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like.
5.
characterized by or expressing such a quality: a patient smile.
6.
quietly and steadily persevering or diligent, especially in detail or exactness: a patient worker.
7.
undergoing the action of another ( opposed to agent ).
00:10
Patient is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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Idioms
8.
patient of,
a.
having or showing the capacity for endurance: a man patient of distractions.
b.
susceptible of: This statement is patient of criticism.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English pacient (adj. and noun) < Middle French < Latin patient- (stem of patiēns), present participle of patī to undergo, suffer, bear; see -ent

Related forms
pa·tient·less, adjective
pa·tient·ly, adverb
pa·tient·ness, noun
o·ver·pa·tient, adjective
qua·si-pa·tient, adjective
qua·si-pa·tient·ly, adverb
su·per·pa·tient, adjective
su·per·pa·tient·ly, adverb
un·pa·tient, adjective
un·pa·tient·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. invalid. 4. uncomplaining, long-suffering, forbearing, resigned, passive, calm. 5. quiet, serene, unruffled, unexcited, self-possessed, composed. 6. sedulous, assiduous, untiring.

Antonyms
4. hostile. 5. impatient, agitated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To patient
Collins
World English Dictionary
patient (ˈpeɪʃənt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—adj
1.  enduring trying circumstances with even temper
2.  tolerant; understanding
3.  capable of accepting delay with equanimity
4.  persevering or diligent: a patient worker
5.  archaic admitting of a certain interpretation
 
—n
6.  a person who is receiving medical care
7.  rare a person or thing that is the recipient of some action
 
[C14: see patience]
 
'patiently
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

patient
early 14c., "bearing or enduring without complaint," from L. patientem (see patience).

patient
"suffering or sick person," late 14c., from O.Fr. pacient (n.), from the adj., from L. patientem (see patience).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

patient pa·tient (pā'shənt)
n.
One who receives medical attention, care, or treatment.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Medical treatment, or even diagnostic examination, can cause adverse effects in
  a patient.
Medical centers are in a business with a mission on research, education and
  patient care.
Doctors often describe a sense of shock when they experience the medical system
  from a patient's perspective.
In this patient the intolerance was severe, so the gas problem was, too.
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