materia medica

[ muh-teer-ee-uh-med-i-kuh ]

/ məˈtɪər i ə ˈmɛd ɪ kə /

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noun

(used with a plural verb) the remedial substances employed in medicine.

(used with a singular verb)Also called pharmacognosy . the science dealing with the sources, physical characteristics, uses, and doses of drugs.

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Origin of materia medica

1690–1700; <Medieval Latin: medical material

Words nearby materia medica

materially, material mode, materials, materials handling, materials science, materia medica, matériel, maternal, maternalize, maternity, maternity benefit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use materia medica in a sentence

Of all classes of the materia medica, none are more uncertain in their action than expectorants.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Aliments; Materia alimentaria, L. Substances employed as food.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
A copy of materia-medica and a Latin dictionary were the only guides to the beginner of a medical career in those days.
Watch Yourself Go By|Al. G. Field
About the middle of the fifteenth century flourished Saladino, famous as an authority on materia medica.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine|Roswell Park

He acknowledged good in all of them, and he welcomed most of them in preference to materia medica.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for materia medica

materia medica

/ (məˈtɪərɪə ˈmɛdɪkə) /

noun

the branch of medical science concerned with the study of drugs used in the treatment of disease: includes pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and the history and physical and chemical properties of drugs

the drugs used in the treatment of disease

Word Origin for materia medica

C17: from Medieval Latin: medical matter

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