the.com/care
the quiet labor nobody pays for but everyone survives on
means To feel concern for something or someone, and often to act on that concern by looking after them.
from From Old English 'caru,' meaning sorrow, grief, or anxious worry — the word began heavy. For centuries 'care' was the weight on your chest, the burden you carried (you can still hear it in 'careworn' and 'a world of cares'). The gentler modern sense — tending, minding, looking after — grew out of that older ache, as if worry naturally tilted toward doing something about it. It's likely related to Old High German 'kara,' lament, and stands quite separate from Latin 'cura' (cure, curate), despite how alike they sound.
- word origin
- comes from old root meaning grief and sorrow
- economic value
- unpaid care work tops 10 trillion dollars yearly
- brain effect
- giving care triggers the same reward circuits as receiving it
- medical roots
- intensive care units only emerged in the 1950s
meals on wheels — delivers hot meals to 2.4 million homebound seniors and disabled adults annually in the us
doctors without borders — provides medical care in 70+ countries regardless of ability to pay since 1971
hospice care — specialized end-of-life care in facilities and homes focusing on comfort, not cure