I had been to Paris and I had visited the Conciergerie where they forced the much maligned Queen Marie Antoinette to eat her last cake. So when my doctor anounced that he would go “concierge” I was puzzled at first, not knowing what to make of this word in this context. I figured it out, of course, as I think you must have too because doctors do this sort of thing now everywhere . My friends in Paris who live in old fasshioned Parisian apartment buildings would probably be shocked to hear that I am about to entrust my healthcare to the concierge, the elderly lady in warm slippers who sits downstairs in the “loge”, eager to clue the tenants in to the mysteries of the other tenants’ lives. This misunderstanding arises from the fact that the French consider “concierge” to be a noun, and it is usually a woman.
One of my dictionaries also mentions an English noun by that name, designating a person in charge, a warden or caretaker. But then my doctor was already my caretaker. It would not be terribly logical for a caretaker to go caretaker, would it?
The word is not related to “concert” or “conservative”, in case you wonder. According to the etymological dictionary the word “concierge” is derived from the Latin “conservus” and means “fellow slave”. My Doctor and I, are we fellow slaves then? Slaves to money maybe? I know we both need money all the time. But I don’t think that is the true meaning of “going concierge” although it is probably approaching the mark.
I believe the real meaning of “going concierge” emerges when we realize that this word is also an adjective, like “good” or “tall”. My doctor happens to be tall, and he is good. From now on he will also be concierge. He will be a tall, good, and concierge doctor. I am joking, of course. But not really: a “concierge physician”, I read somewhere, is one who “administers medical care for an annual fee”. There you have it! It is a question of money after all. Thank God the doctor I have will also remain a tall and good caretaker.
None of this helps much, however. I still have to pay as before, only more.
(c)2017 by Herbert H. Hoffman
Picture credit: en.wikipedia.com