Regardless of the type of person who has it or its position in the body, an age spots are age spots. But if an age spot is relatively the same for each person who has it, why does it have several incarnations in the English language? Each of the terms used to describe an age spot does not show any sign of change in meaning or nuance, but all of them still refer to the exact same thing. The reason behind this actually depends on some important areas. And for this article, we’ll talk about some of the most commonly used alternate names for age spots.
The first word on the list is “Solar lentigo”. As the term “solar” suggests, the sun is a relevant determinant for age spots. This significance of the sun is due to its effects on the skin and its eventual role in the development of age spots. “Lentigo” is just another way to call a freckle but in the Old Middle English Language, it means spots of lentil-shape. Therefore, using this circumstance, we can call age spots as “solar lentil-shaped spots” or “lentil-shaped spots caused by the sun”.
A more normal term for an age spot can be the word “Senile freckle”. This term somewhat holds a rather subtle tone than the word “AGE spots”, which definitely has no sign whatsoever of even hiding the origin of such skin lesion. But since you are very familiar with the difference of a “senile freckle” from a typical freckle, you should not confuse the two. In the end, we are still referring to the very same age spot from the beginning.
Now, another term for age spots that are more applicable for health professionals’ use is “lentigo senilis”. Doctors, nurses and all the other health professionals actually are educated and instructed to call this medical abnormality as “lentigo senilis”, the authorized term. Basing on the previous names that we have given, we can only guess that it is the Latin version of the word “Senile freckle”. If you are not a medical professional in any way, I suggest you just stick with the term “age spots” to avoid sounding pompous.
Another commonly used term for age spots is the “liver spot”. This term has been here for ages even before “age spots” gained its popularity. Some people have mistakenly identified age spots as a medical condition that has something to do with the liver. Indeed, for quite some time in the past, liver alterations are believed to have caused age spots; thus, the term “liver spots” somehow prevailed.
Whatever you want to use to refer to age spots, an age spot remains the same. If you don’t do something about it, it might become the permanent seal that reminds you of your bitter position at the latter half of the human lifetime.
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