physic

American  

[fiz-ik] / ˈfɪz ɪk /

noun

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)

physicked, physicking

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

• physicky adjective

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

Example Sentences

It all started back in 1670, when two Edinburgh doctors - Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour - set up a physic garden, to explore the links between plants and medicine, for the benefit of society.

From BBC

"How to live with physic wounds? How to live with moral wounds?"

From US News

“How to live with physic wounds? How to live with moral wounds?”

From Seattle Times

In an age when we have come to think of plants as mostly decorative or edible, such “physic” gardens are a reminder of a time when we needed herbs and knowledge of them to survive.

From Washington Post

The University of Oxford’s Botanic Garden, Britain’s oldest, was founded almost 400 years ago, when the 1st Earl of Danby donated 5,000 pounds to start a “physic garden,” producing plants to support medical practice.

From Washington Post