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.
Obecalp Edit
Sometimes a doctor who does this, says that the fake medicine is `Obecalp', which is "placebo" spelled backwards. [1] [2] (and many other links)
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