medical greek
Preserved but no longer current.
The slang used by medical students at the hospitals. At the London University they have a way of disguising English, described by Albert Smith as the Gower Street Dialect, which consists in transposing the initials of words, e.g., "poke a smipe"—smoke a pipe; "flutter-by"—butterfly, &c. This disagreeable nonsense, which has not even the recommendation of a little ability in its composition, is often termed Marrowskying. See GREEK, ST.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “medical greek” mean?
The slang used by medical students at the hospitals. At the London University they have a way of disguising English, described by Albert Smith as the Gower Street Dialect, which consists in transposing the initials of words, e.g., "poke a smipe"—smoke a pipe; "flutter-by"—butterfly, &c. This disagreeable nonsense, which has not even the recommendation of a little ability in its composition, is often termed Marrowskying. See GREEK, ST.
Is “medical greek” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.