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Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:39 am What do you call the process or act of not eating or drinking anything for a while before a medical examination?

‘Fasting’

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:54 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:39 am What do you call the process or act of not eating or drinking anything for a while before a medical examination?

‘Fasting’

Thank you! Wouldn't have expecting people making such a religious thing of it.

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:57 am

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:54 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:39 am What do you call the process or act of not eating or drinking anything for a while before a medical examination?

‘Fasting’

Thank you! Wouldn't have expecting people making such a religious thing of it.

‘Fasting‘ just means abstaining from food, not necessarily for a religious reason.

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 6:21 am
‘Fasting‘ just means abstaining from food, not necessarily for a religious reason.

Thank you!

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 6:21 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:57 am

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:54 am

‘Fasting’

Thank you! Wouldn't have expecting people making such a religious thing of it.

‘Fasting‘ just means abstaining from food, not necessarily for a religious reason.

While this is true, and probably the normal terminology, you'll also see “nil by mouth” for medical purposes.

Lērisama wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 9:40 am

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 6:21 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:57 am

Thank you! Wouldn't have expecting people making such a religious thing of it.

‘Fasting‘ just means abstaining from food, not necessarily for a religious reason.

While this is true, and probably the normal terminology, you'll also see “nil by mouth” for medical purposes.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

And if you really need to make the distinction, you have "medical fasting" vs "religious fasting". Technically the period from your last meal before sleep, and your first meal after sleep is considered a fast as well. Hence, break fast is the first meal of the day.

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 10:05 am

Lērisama wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 9:40 am

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 6:21 am

‘Fasting‘ just means abstaining from food, not necessarily for a religious reason.

While this is true, and probably the normal terminology, you'll also see “nil by mouth” for medical purposes.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

I've only ever seen it as the name of a musical artist...I want to say they did club tunes? At least now I know what their name refers to...

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 5:39 am What do you call the process or act of not eating or drinking anything for a while before a medical examination?

Fasting. Or at least, that's what my doctors and nurses call it - I don't normally use a concise word for it.

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 10:05 am

Lērisama wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 9:40 am

bradrn wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 6:21 am

‘Fasting‘ just means abstaining from food, not necessarily for a religious reason.

While this is true, and probably the normal terminology, you'll also see “nil by mouth” for medical purposes.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

It's the term my hospital use. I don't know how prevelent it is elsewhere. Not very, judging by this thread.

Does English have a word for the result of fasting, i.e. you do no longer have any food in your stomach? In Dutch, we have "nuchter", which in colloquial speech means "no alcohol consumed" (as in "sober"), but in medical terms "not having any food or drinks in the stomach".


JAL

EDIT: corrected typo

jal wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 4:54 am Does English have a word for the result of fastening, i.e. you do no longer have any food in your stomach? In Dutch, we have "nuchter", which in colloquial speech means "no alcohol consumed" (as in "sober"), but in medical terms "not having any food or drinks in the stomach".


JAL

No specific term I've heard other than ‘empty stomach’, which is mainly used figuratively to mean very hungry, but you'll also see e.g. medication that says to take it ‘on an empty stomach’

jal wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 4:54 am Does English have a word for the result of fastening, i.e. you do no longer have any food in your stomach?

‘Hungry’?

(Also, ‘fastening’ ≠ ‘fasting’.)

EDIT: Less facetiously, Lērisama is correct: ‘empty stomach’ is a common term.

Thanks both.


JAL

bradrn wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 5:06 am (Also, ‘fastening’ ≠ ‘fasting’.)

All related, though. The root meaning of OE fæst was "firm", still seen in "hold fast". To be firm and steadfast in will produced the sense of abstaining from food. To fasten is of course to make firm, especially by making a firm connection. You could run fæste, i.e. vigorously, then specialized to quickly. A nice word family to reflect on for conlangers!

jal wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 4:54 am Does English have a word for the result of fasting, i.e. you do no longer have any food in your stomach? In Dutch, we have "nuchter", which in colloquial speech means "no alcohol consumed" (as in "sober"), but in medical terms "not having any food or drinks in the stomach".

The German cognate is nüchtern, with the same meanings.

This is a Dutch question rather than an English question, but allegedly Standard Dutch lacks i-umlaut except in very rare cases (e.g. steden 'cities') and StD is descended primarily from varieties of Old Dutch in which short-o merged with short-u (mind you, short-o only existed in the first place due to a-umlaut), generally to a more open vowel (as seen in StD op, Northern Low Saxon up). So how did StD end up with nuchter with a rounded front near-close vowel where StG has the same (which in StG must be due to either i-umlaut or dialect borrowing (as is the case with StG Süd) because StG lacked the fronting of back high vowels that occurred in StD)? Dialect borrowing? Irregular preservation of short-u which then underwent unconditional fronting?

Travis B. wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:15 pmThis is a Dutch question (...) So how did StD end up with nuchter with a rounded front near-close vowel where StG has the same

Because the word is an old borrowing from German.


JAL

jal wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:25 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:15 pmThis is a Dutch question (...) So how did StD end up with nuchter with a rounded front near-close vowel where StG has the same

Because the word is an old borrowing from German.

Thank you. I was wondering how StD even ended up with a rounded front near-close vowel in the first place.

I just realized that IMD Mardi Gras [ˌmʌːʁˤ(ɾ)iːˈɡʁˤɑ(ː)] is a second case of [ʌːʁˤ] after target [ˈtʰʌːʁˤɡɘʔ(t)].