Etymology
The word
placebo is
Latin for "I will please". It is in Latin text in the
Bible (Psalm 114:1-9,
Vulgate version), from where it became familiar to the public via the
Office of the Dead church service (see
Placebo (at funeral) for details).
Whenever a placebo is requested in a medical prescription it may imply a statement by the
prescribing doctor that "This patient has come to me pleading for a treatment which does not exist or which I cannot or will not supply;
I will please him by giving him something ineffectual and claiming that it is effectual." It could also indicate a belief that the effect was due to a subconscious desire of the patient to please the doctor. Since the
placebo effect is in the
patient not the doctor this may be more self-consistent. Early usage of the term does not indicate why it was chosen.