tourniquet
tourniquet
UK[ˈtʊə.nɪ.keɪ]US[ˈtɝː.nɪ.kɪt]
n
A device or a strip of material pulled tightly around a limb to stop severe bleeding by stopping the flow of blood through an artery.
n
Any similar device for compressing a part of the body.
Etymology
The word 'tourniquet' entered English in the late 17th century from the French 'tourniquet', which itself derived from the Old French verb 'tourniquer', meaning 'to turn'. This origin reflects the early design of the device, which often involved turning a stick or rod to tighten a bandage. The French term is related to 'tourner' (to turn), tracing back to the Latin 'tornare' (to turn on a lathe), from 'tornus' (lathe), and ultimately to the Greek 'tornos' (a tool for drawing a circle). The semantic journey moved from the general concept of turning to the specific medical apparatus operated by a turning action.
Analysis
The word 'tourniquet' is a simplex loanword from French. It does not contain separable, meaningful morphemes within its modern English spelling.
Examples
The medic applied a tourniquet above the soldier's wound to control the hemorrhage.
In first aid training, they taught us how to improvise a tourniquet using a belt and a stick.
The surgeon released the tourniquet once the procedure was complete.