Pharmacology. a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being.
(in federal law)
any substance recognized in the official pharmacopoeia or formulary of the nation.
any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or other animals.
any article, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or other animals.
any substance intended for use as a component of such a drug, but not a device or a part of a device.
a habit-forming medicinal or illicit substance, especially a narcotic.
drugs,
chemical substances prepared and sold as pharmaceutical items, either by prescription or over the counter.
personal hygienic items sold in a drugstore, as toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.
Obsolete. any ingredient used in chemistry, pharmacy, dyeing, or the like.
verb (used with object),drugged,drug·ging.
to administer a medicinal drug to.
to stupefy or poison with a drug.
to mix (food or drink) with a drug, especially a stupefying, narcotic, or poisonous drug.
to administer anything nauseous to.
Verb Phrases
drug up, to take a narcotic drug: The addict prowled about for a place to drug up.
Idioms
drug on the market, a commodity that is overabundant or in excess of demand in the market.Also drug in the market.
Origin of drug
1
1300–50;Middle Englishdrogges (plural) < Middle Frenchdrogue, of obscure origin
British Dictionary definitions for drug on the market
drug
noun
any synthetic, semisynthetic, or natural chemical substance used in the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of disease, or for other medical reasonsRelated adjective: pharmaceutical
a chemical substance, esp a narcotic, taken for the pleasant effects it produces
drug on the marketa commodity available in excess of the demands of the market
verbdrugs, druggingordrugged(tr)
to mix a drug with (food, drink, etc)
to administer a drug to
to stupefy or poison with or as if with a drug
Related formsRelated prefix: pharmaco-Derived Formsdruggy, adjective
Word Origin for drug
C14: from Old French drogue, probably of Germanic origin
late 14c. (early 14c. in Anglo-French), "medicine, chemical ingredients," from Old French droge "supply, stock, provision" (14c.), of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge-vate "dry barrels," or droge waere, literally "dry wares," but specifically drugs and spices, with first element mistaken as word for the contents (see dry goods), or because medicines mostly consisted of dried herbs.
Cf. Latin species, in Late Latin "wares," then specialized to "spices" (French épice, English spice). The same source produced Italian and Spanish droga, Swedish drog.
Application to "narcotics and opiates" is late 19c., though association with "poisons" is 1500s. Druggie first recorded 1968. To be a drug on or in the market (mid-17c.) is of doubtful connection and may be a different word, perhaps a play on drag, which was sometimes drug c.1240-1800.
drug
v.
c.1600, from drug (n.). Related: drugged; drugging.
A chemical substance, especially one prescribed by a medical provider, that is used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a condition or disease. Drugs are prescribed for a limited amount of time, as for an acute infection, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders, such as hypertension.
A chemical substance such as a narcotic or a hallucinogen that affects the central nervous system and is used recreationally for perceived desirable effects on personality, perception, or behavior. Many recreational drugs are used illicitly and can be addictive.
A commodity whose supply greatly exceeds the demand for it. For example, Now that asbestos is considered dangerous, asbestos tile is a drug on the market. The use of the noun drug in the sense of “something overabundant” (as opposed to a medicine or narcotic) dates from the mid-1600s, but the first record of the full expression, put as drug in the market, dates only from the 1830s.
