English - Alternative Forms

• medicin (obsolete)

English - Etymology

Middle English medicin, from Old French, from Latin medicīna (“the healing art, medicine, a physician's shop, a remedy, medicine”), feminine of medicinus (“of or belonging to physic or surgery, or to a physician or surgeon”), from medicus (“a physician, surgeon”), from medeor (“I heal”).

English - Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ˈmed-sǐn, ˈmed-sn, IPA^(key): /ˈmɛd.sɪn/, /ˈmɛd.sn̩/
• (US) enPR: ˈmed-ĭ-sĭn, IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.dɪ.sɪn/
• (Weak-vowel merger) IPA^(key): [ˈmɛ.də.sən]

English - Noun

medicine (plural medicines)

1. A substance which specifically promotes healing when ingested or consumed in some way.
2. A treatment or cure.
3. The study of the cause, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease or illness.
4. The profession of physicians, surgeons and related specialisms; those who practice medicine.
5. Ritual Native American magic used (notably by a medicine man) to promote a desired outcome in healing, hunting, warfare etc.
6. (obsolete) black magic, superstition.
7. (obsolete) A philtre or love potion.
   • 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I, II. ii. 18:

     If the rascal have not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be hanged. It could not be else. I have drunk medicines.

8. (obsolete) A physician.
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well, II. i. 72:

     I have seen a medicine

     That's able to breathe life into a stone

Synonyms

• (treatment): regimen, course, program, prescription
• (substance): drug, prescription, pharmaceutical, elixir
• See also Wikisaurus:medicine
• See also Wikisaurus:pharmaceutical

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

English - Verb

medicine (third-person singular simple present medicines, present participle medicining, simple past and past participle medicined)

1. (rare, obsolete) To treat with medicine.

English - See Also

• therapy
• panacea

English - References

• Prescription Desk Reference, Prescription Drug Information:
• “medicine” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "medicine" in the Merriam-Webster On-line dictionary
• "medicine" in the Hutchinson Encyclopaedia, Helicon Publishing LTD 2007.
• medicine in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• medicine at OneLook Dictionary Search

Italian - Noun

medicine f

1. plural form of medicina

Italian - Anagrams

• endemici

Middle French - Etymology

From Old French medecine, with the i added back to reflect the original Latin medicīna.

Middle French - Noun

medicine f (plural medicines)

1. medicine (act of practising medical treatment)

Descendants

• French: médecine

Рифма