physic

American  

[fiz-ik] / ˈfɪz ɪk /

noun

• physics
  plural

1. a medicine that purges; cathartic; laxative.

2. any medicine; a drug or medicament.

3. Archaic. the medical art or profession.

4. Obsolete. natural science.

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verb (used with object)

• physics,
  present (3rd person singular)
• physicked,
  past participle,  past
• physicking
  present participle

1. to treat with or act upon as a physic or medicine.

2. to work upon as a medicine does; relieve or cure.

physic British  

/ ˈfɪzɪk /

noun

1. rare a medicine or drug, esp a cathartic or purge

2. archaic the art or skill of healing

3. an archaic term for physics

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verb

1. archaic (tr) to treat (a patient) with medicine

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• physicky
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• physics
  plural

Participles

• physicking
  present
• physicked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• physic
  simple
• physics
  simple
• have physicked
  perfect
• has physicked
  perfect
• am physicking
  progressive
• are physicking
  progressive
• is physicking
  progressive
• have been physicking
  perfect progressive
• has been physicking
  perfect progressive

Past

• physicked
  simple
• had physicked
  perfect
• was physicking
  progressive
• were physicking
  progressive
• had been physicking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will physic
  simple
• will have physicked
  perfect
• will be physicking
  progressive
• will have been physicking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of physic

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English fisyk(e), phisik(e), from Old French fisique, from Latin physica “natural science” ( Medieval Latin: “medical science”), from Greek physikḗ “science of nature,” noun use of feminine form of physikós “pertaining to nature,” from phýs(is) physis + -ikos -ic; verb derivative of the noun

Explanation

These days, asking the pharmacist for a physic to relieve your constipation will probably get you a blank stare; it's an old-fashioned, rarely-used term for "laxative." Physic comes from the Latin word for "study of nature," so it's unclear how it came to mean a "purging medicine." An almost-synonym is "cathartic," although that word is usually used to describe an emotional purging- like a good cry- rather than physical one. Don't confuse physic with physics, the scientific study of the interaction between energy and matter, or psychic, someone who can read minds and see the future.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

physic physics physicked physicking

A spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey and purveyor of physic memorabilia online, Williamson spent about a year seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2023

Lord Sands in “Henry VIII”: ’Tis time to give ’em physic, their diseases are grown so catching.”

From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2020

Greenall’s Berkeley Square London Dry Gin summons, for him, “the atmosphere of an English physic garden in summer.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2012

His modest knowledge of physic was of assistance to the great Franklin, the great Linnaeus, and Catherine the Great, who conceived a dangerous gratitude for him after he removed her stone.

From Time Magazine Archive

Well, if you don’t feel good why don’t you take a physic?

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

"Specifically, it's important to examine the physics taking place in solid nitrogen materials under stress and strain, which can cause them to melt. These processes have never been studied in real detail in the laboratory."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

“We’re opening new offices. We’ve got lots of other plans across the region. Laws of physics of bricks and mortar will always mean it takes time.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Achieving that would require the physical AI foundation model to “understand the physics, kinematics, dynamics of the world really well,” Pathak said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

The largest global survey of physicists ever conducted has revealed just how unsettled some of the biggest questions in modern physics remain.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Thomas Hobbes, writing in 1655, thought that there was no astronomy worth the name before Copernicus, no physics before Galileo, no physiology before William Harvey.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Confound you, do you think I want to be physicked?

From Varney the Vampire Or the Feast of Blood by Thomas Preskett Prest

Some people refuse to be bled or physicked on a Friday.

From The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by James Grant

Nearly every one who knew of the facts in his case was alarmed, and many did not hesitate to cry out, even in his hearing, "He must be physicked, or die!"

From Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician by William A. (William Andrus) Alcott

And physicked me and made me worse, Till infancy became a curse?

From The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood by Thomas Hood

She was an agent for Morison's Pills—but having a fractious Scotch lodger that she couldn't get out, she physicked him so dreadfully that he nearly died, and the police took her licence away.

From Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities by Robert Smith Surtees

Last Monday he told me that more physicking was no good, and that I had better be off here, and see what exercise and the fresh air of the moors would do for me.

From Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley — Volume 2 by Thomas Henry Huxley

Talk's a brew   Mischievous, heady, easy raised, whose sting   Is ill to bear, and not by physicking   Voided.

From In a Green Shade A Country Commentary by Maurice Henry Hewlett

Severe drain as this was on the medicine-chest, Magamba and his wife must have both wet and dry; and even others put in a claim, but were told they were too healthy to require physicking.

From The Discovery of the Source of the Nile by John Hanning Speke

Sometimes they pine and fall into a slow consumption, we nursing, cockering, and physicking them to the last.

From Nancy by Rhoda Broughton

Now, physicking off generally weakens us, instead of giving strength.

From Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician by William A. (William Andrus) Alcott