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Comment by ses1984 | Hacker News Reader

ses1984

Placebo doesn’t mean literally a sugar pill. It means something that has a positive effect based on perception.

It does not have to have a positive effect. A placebo can have no affect at all, perceived or otherwise. It must have no active mechanism to improve the specific condition being treated.

  > Placebo doesn’t mean literally a sugar pill. It means something that has a positive effect based on perception.

It literally means "that which satisfies", from the same root as the word pleasure.

EDIT: Three downvotes in 54 minutes? Here's a source backing up my claim:

https://www.etymonline.com/word/placebo

etymology is not relevant to the conversation

Unlike e.g. French, English does not have an authoritative language-directing body. Anybody is free to coin a word, and anybody is free to interpret that word. The only guides we have are context, stated author intent, and etymology. Etymology is very relevant when discussing the meaning of English words.

It is somewhat relevant, but what matter most when discussing the current meaning - is the current meaning. Not what a word meant hundreds or thousands of years ago. Your comment above read to me as a final argument what the word means, because of it's roots. And this was probably what got you the downvotes.

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