From Latin palliāre 'to cloak,' the medical practice of covering symptoms rather than curing their cause.
Relieving pain or symptoms without addressing the underlying cause of a disease.
From Medieval Latin palliātīvus, from Latin palliāre 'to cloak, conceal,' from pallium 'cloak, covering.' The metaphor is of throwing a cloak over symptoms to hide them, rather than curing the disease beneath. Palliative care as a medical specialty emerged in the 1960s through the work of Dame Cicely Saunders. Key roots: *pel- (Proto-Indo-European: "to cover, wrap