allopathy

[uh-lop-uh-thee]

noun

the method of treating disease by the use of agents that produce effects different from those of the disease treated (opposed to homeopathy).

Origin of allopathy

From the German word Allopathie, dating back to 1835–45. See allo-, -pathy

Related formsal·lo·path·ic

[al-uh-path-ik] /ˌæl əˈpæθ ɪk/, adjectiveal·lo·path·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for allopathic

Contemporary Examples of allopathic

The pesky hanger-on evidently possessed an understanding of my immune system that allopathic medicine has yet to match.
An Epidemic of Absence: Destroying the Bugs in Our Bodies Can Be Dangerous to Our Health
Moises Velasquez-Manoff
September 9, 2012

Historical Examples of allopathic

We'll give 'em medicine in allopathic doses, and it will be a case of 'kill or cure.'
Bert Wilson on the Gridiron
J. W. Duffield
But up to seven I lived exclusively on allopathic medicines.
Mark Twain's Speeches
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
"There's an allopathic physician at Corbitant," said Grace passively.
Dr. Breen's Practice
William Dean Howells
That comes of avoiding all allopathic messes like the devil.
Lady Rose's Daughter
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Pneumonia followed; physicians came with torments of plasters and allopathic dosings that brought no relief.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for allopathic

allopathic

adjective

of, relating to, or used in allopathy

Derived Formsallopathically, adverb

allopathy

noun

the orthodox medical method of treating disease, by inducing a condition different from or opposed to the cause of the diseaseCompare homeopathy

Derived Formsallopathic (ˌæləˈpæθɪk), adjectiveallopathically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for allopathic

adj.

1830, from French allopathique (see allopathy). Related: Allopathically.

allopathy

1842, "treatment of disease by remedies that produce effects opposite to the symptoms," from German Allopathie (Hahnemann), from Greek allos "other" (see alias) + -patheia, "suffering, disease, feeling" (see -pathy). The term applied by homeopathists to traditional medicine.

allopathic in Medicine

allopathy

[ə-lŏp′ə-thē]

n.

A method of treating disease with remedies that produce effects antagonistic to those caused by the disease itself.

Related formsal′lo•path′ic (ăl′ə-păth′ĭk) adj.