Where does "treadmill" come from?

Don't ask me why, but the other day I was wondering where the heck the word "treadmill" came from, as in what is it's etymology (not entomology). I, in fact, despise treadmills at the gym. Really, what's the point. There is nothing worse than running for 20 minutes while watching TV and ending up in the same place you started. If my friend in Canada can go out and run when it is minus 27 degrees outside, we can all go out when it is drizzly or chilly. Seriously.

Anyhow, I digress (not like the whole blog is a giant digression or anything). I was curious about this seemingly odd word. It has no obvious Latin or Greek root as far as I can tell. And really the compound word makes no apparent sense. The "tread" part, I can see; but, what is the story with this "mill" business. So I went on a little hunt to quench my curiosity. If you have known me for more than two seconds, you know how much I love words - how they sound, where they come from, finding new ways to use them, making people's heads spin with polysyllabic (appropriate) verbiage etcetera. Here is what I found.

The basic word "tread" was first seen waaaaay back in the amazing 7th century epic poem, "Beowulf." At that time, it was used to mean, "to step or walk upon." The device called the "treadmill" was invented in 1817, at which time it was used in an English prison as a way to both punish prisoners, and grind grain. This machine, which is also referred to as a "treadwheel," involved a series of horizontal treads the prisoners would walk on, which would then rotate a large axle. The axle movement drove the grain mill. Similar mechanisms were used therafter to grind all sorts of stuff, and even to pump air into early submarines. You see, my assessment of this thing as a modern form of torture is not far from the truth! So the word itself come out of a description of a contraption, not from the classical roots. Very pragmatic indeed.

Anyhow, the modern treadmill was not used for "recreation" until well into the 20th century. It is not clear when the gym-quality-infomercial style treadmill came into being. Though, in 1956 the first cardiac testing treadmill was described and used by cardiologists. I, in my sick humor, always kind of think it a little ironic when a Code Blue is called in the cardiac treadmill lab... that is what I call a positive test!

In my brief information hunt, I came upon an interesting modern use of the word "treadmill." Hedonic Treadmill: Instead of people getting happier and happier as they are more successful and making more money, they never are satisfied. As wealth increases, so do people's expectations and desires. One gets stuck on this "hedonic treadmill," chasing a happiness that is just out of reach, never quite being satisfied. There are actually several other similarly intriguing and exciting phrases involving the word "treadmill," but I am by no means trying to be an English teacher here. As all of my attendings in med school told me when I asked a question: "Look it up."