‘Triage’ is a word that I’ve heard used a lot within large human-designed social systems.
But where does this word come from, and is its (newer) ‘service system’ usage reasonable…or does it hide/confuse/obfuscate?
Starting with the dictionary:
“Triage: the process of quickly examining sick or injured people, for example after an accident or a battle, so that those who are in the most serious condition can be treated first.” (Collins Dictionary)
A few things to note:
- The 18th century root of the word is the French ‘trier’, which means to ‘sort/ separate out’1;
- Its original English language usage (some sources note 1918) was with reference to dealing with mass casualties on the battlefield, with the aim of maximising the number of survivors;
- It has the same meaning in respect of mass victims of a major disaster (e.g. an earthquake, a major weather event, …);
- Whilst a battle and a major disaster are ‘events’, this definition of triage also applies in the ‘day to day’ running of hospital emergency departments.
Squire to the Giants 