Neil Ashby Feb 27, 2017:

Good point CD

neilmac Feb 24, 2017:

Hospital cubicles As the page was loading, I was thinking "what do we call those little rooms where you leave your clothes when going for a scan or blood test"... and lo and behold - "cubicle" is the word I was looking for. In my local hospital's MRI dept, they are little rooms with a door on each end.

Charles Davis Feb 24, 2017:

@Neil I did misunderstand your comment, yes.
I think you're reading the meaning of EN isolate into SP aislar. Whereas in a medical context "isolate" immediately suggests microbiological isolation, "aislar" doesn't automatically suggest that in Spanish, and I don't think the Academy is using the word in that sense. They just mean "separate". In other words, "aislar" is in practice a little wider in its usage than "isolate"; in some situations where SP uses "aislar", EN would naturally use "separate", and I think this is one of them.

What is certain is that a "box" in a Spanish A&E department is not an isolation unit in the microbiological sense; it's not sealed off from its surroundings and from other boxes. And I can't believe the Academy members who drafted this definition thought otherwise. As you say, we all know what a cubicle is, and similarly all Spaniards know what a box is.

Neil Ashby Feb 24, 2017:

You've misunderstood my comment CD. I whole-heartedly agree that the word cubicle, in a hospital context, summons up the image of a plastic curtain along a curved rail, at least in the UK (there's no need to explain what a cubicle is; we've all visited a hospital at some point in our lives). However, it most certainly doesn't provide any isolation. I wouldn't like to be isolated from someone with a contagious disease by a plastic curtain.
Anything offering isolation, as mentioned in the DRAE definition of a "box", would surely be a room and not a cubicle - that's my point.
My contention is with DRAE's definition of box - just because the Spanish tongue has an official language academy it doesn't mean it is fully comprehensive or necessarily correct.

Charles Davis Feb 24, 2017:

@Marie Fair enough. I doubt it's an "official" term in any strict sense; it's just a matter of custom. I'm not denying there can be exceptions, and I certainly don't rule out regional variations (which would be quite laborious to verify).

I'm not trying to score points (in any sense) and have no personal stake in this question. All I'm trying to do, as always, is guide the asker, and future users, towards the most suitable term as I see it. If I don't know I keep quiet, and I don't claim to be sure of my ground when I'm not. I'm not a medical professional, of course, but I did do quite a lot of research on "box" when I answered the last question we had on it and I am very confident about this. Once again I would add that for the US "bay" is very widely used, though "cubicle" is not unknown.

Charles Davis Feb 24, 2017:

It's common practice in wards too, as I know from visiting my mother before she passed away. There's a rail in the ceiling around each bed area and when privacy is required the curtain is drawn. It's good enough; private rooms are nice, of course, but the NHS can't afford them for everyone.

Charles Davis Feb 24, 2017:

@Neil "Cubicles" don't always have walls either. Here's an example (the first I found). This is reporting what the chief executive of Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey said about their improvement plans:

"Other improvements would include private, soundproof glass-fronted treatment rooms, instead of the current antiquated system of curtained-off cubicles."
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/hospital-eyes-new...

So they can be spaces in an open area, and when you draw the curtains they become "cubicles". Makes sense; the space is more flexible that way. Though permanent partitions and glass fronts are more modern.

Neil Ashby Feb 24, 2017:

The funny thing about DRAE's defintion of box is how can someone be "isolated" behind a simple curtain? That is, if "compartimento" refers to a cubicle or booth, as CD interprets, then it seems to be a very loose definition in the DRAE.

Marie Wilson Feb 24, 2017:

@Charles My point is that booth does exist and is in use, and I thought both terms were interchangeable. I'm not going to start adding references as that would be petty and pointless. However, if the NHS and private health in the UK have one official term, cubicle, so be it.

Charles Davis Feb 23, 2017:

The predominance of "cubicle" for what is called a "box" in Spanish is reflected in the glossary entries I've referred to, based on a number of well-supported answers. In one of them "booth" was added to the glossary entry, as well as "cubicle", the chosen answer, apparently to reflect one of the other answers, where a native Spanish speaker proposed "booth", with no references at all, saying that "cubicle" made him think of an office. Some agreed, but nearly all of them said it should be "cubicle", except one who said that "cubicle" made her think of toilets (!!). That's the kind of thing you get here sometimes, I'm afraid.

Here's another example where "booth" was suggested, by a native Spanish speaker from Argentina, with two unconvincing references. "Cubicle" was chosen:
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/medical_general...

It should be added that "bay" is fine for the US.

Charles Davis Feb 23, 2017:

@Marie It's true that "booth" is occasionally used for this, but I don't know where your numerous examples in UK hospitals are; I can't find them. It is rare for people in the medical profession to call them booths. It's best to look at nhs.uk sites, which will tend to use the language medical professionals use. If you filter out the ones about people or places called "Booth", the predominance of "cubicle" is overwhelming.

8 examples of "examination cubicle" and 28 of "examination cubicles" on NHS sites.
None of "exam cubicle". 2 of "exam cubicles".
None of "exam booth" "exam booths", "examination booth" or "examination booths".

Marie Wilson Feb 23, 2017:

@Charles Whether cubicle is more common or standard than booth I couldn't say. However, booth does exist and I have found numerous examples regarding UK hospitals for exam booth, triage booth, etc. Maybe it is a northern thing.

Charles Davis Feb 23, 2017:

Not "room" "box
3. m. En un hospital, compartimento que se reserva a los enfermos ingresados en urgencias o que necesitan estar aislados."
http://dle.rae.es/?id=60KtpAI|60Lw5rQ

Charles Davis Feb 23, 2017:

Previous questions on box All these glossary entries use the standard term, cubicle:

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/medical_general...
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/medical_cardiol...
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/medical_health_...
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/medical_cardiol...