veterinary

American  

[vet-er-uh-ner-ee, ve-truh-] / ˈvɛt ər əˌnɛr i, ˈvɛ trə- /

noun

plural

veterinaries

1. a veterinarian.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the medical and surgical treatment of animals, especially domesticated animals.

veterinary British  

/ ˈvɛtrɪnrɪ, ˈvɛtərɪnərɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to veterinary medicine

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Other Word Forms

• nonveterinary adjective

Etymology

Origin of veterinary

1780–90; < Latin veterīnārius, equivalent to veterīn ( ae ) beasts of burden (noun use of feminine plural of veterīnus pertaining to such beasts, equivalent to veter-, stem of vetus old, i.e., grown, able to take a load + -īnus -ine ¹ ) + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

Giardia is spread through feces-contaminated water, soil and food, according to Cornell University’s veterinary college.

From Los Angeles Times

Janie was always trying to get Mom to rename her veterinary clinic something else.

From Literature

With Grief bouncing at his heels, he ambled down the winding driveway, past the pair of small barns, to his father's veterinary office.

From Literature

Ketamine is used legitimately in human and veterinary medicine as an anaesthetic, for pain relief and more recently to manage treatment-resistant depression.

From BBC

Citi’s former CEO Sandy Weill just gave the largest donation in veterinary medicine to the school that cared for his dog.

From MarketWatch