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medicine

[med-uh-sin or, esp. British, med-suh n]
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noun
  1. any substance or substances used in treating disease or illness; medicament; remedy.
  2. the art or science of restoring or preserving health or due physical condition, as by means of drugs, surgical operations or appliances, or manipulations: often divided into medicine proper, surgery, and obstetrics.
  3. the art or science of treating disease with drugs or curative substances, as distinguished from surgery and obstetrics.
  4. the medical profession.
  5. (among North American Indians) any object or practice regarded as having magical powers.
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verb (used with object), med·i·cined, med·i·cin·ing.
  1. to administer medicine to.
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Idioms
  1. give someone a dose/taste of his/her own medicine, to repay or punish a person for an injury by use of the offender's own methods.
  2. take one's medicine, to undergo or accept punishment, especially deserved punishment: He took his medicine like a man.
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Origin of medicine

1175–1225; Middle English medicin < Latin medicīna (ars) healing (art), feminine of medicīnus pertaining to a physician. See medical, -ine1
Related formsan·ti·med·i·cine, adjectivesu·per·med·i·cine, noun

Synonyms

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1. medication, drug; pharmaceutical; physic.

medical dictionary

noun
  1. a specialized dictionary covering terms used in the health professions by doctors, nurses, and others involved in allied health care services. A dictionary with authoritative spellings and definitions is a particularly crucial resource in medicine, where a misspelling or misunderstanding can have unfortunate consequences for people under care. Print dictionaries in this field may be sorted alphabetically or may be categorized according to medical specializations or by the various systems in the body, as the immune system and the respiratory system. The online Medical Dictionary on Dictionary.com allows alphabetical browsing in the combined electronic versions of more than one authoritative medical reference, insuring access to correct spellings, as well as immediate, direct access to a known search term typed into the search box on the site: A medical dictionary reveals that large numbers of medical terms are formed from the same Latin and Greek parts combined and recombined.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for medicine

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Beatrice, what have you done with my new bottle of medicine?

  • Then she exchanged it for one of the same size on the medicine tray.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • There was a mistake about the medicine, and she was blamed; that's all.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • "It was the dark-eyed one that changed the medicine on me," he said.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • But let us reason together, brother; don't you believe at all in medicine?

British Dictionary definitions for medicine

medicine

noun
  1. any drug or remedy for use in treating, preventing, or alleviating the symptoms of disease
  2. the science of preventing, diagnosing, alleviating, or curing disease
  3. any nonsurgical branch of medical science
  4. the practice or profession of medicinehe's in medicine Related adjectives: Aesculapian, iatric
  5. something regarded by primitive people as having magical or remedial properties
  6. take one's medicine to accept a deserved punishment
  7. a taste of one's own medicine or a dose of one's own medicine an unpleasant experience in retaliation for and by similar methods to an unkind or aggressive act
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Word Origin

C13: via Old French from Latin medicīna (ars) (art of) healing, from medicus doctor, from medērī to heal
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 medicine

n.

c.1200, "medical treatment, cure, remedy," also used figuratively, of spiritual remedies, from Old French medecine (Modern French médicine) "medicine, art of healing, cure, treatment, potion," from Latin medicina "the healing art, medicine; a remedy," also used figuratively, perhaps originally ars medicina "the medical art," from fem. of medicinus (adj.) "of a doctor," from medicus "a physician" (see medical); though OED finds evidence for this is wanting. Meaning "a medicinal potion or plaster" in English is mid-14c.

To take (one's) medicine "submit to something disagreeable" is first recorded 1865. North American Indian medicine-man "shaman" is first attested 1801, from American Indian adoption of the word medicine in sense of "magical influence." The U.S.-Canadian boundary they called Medicine Line (first attested 1910), because it conferred a kind of magic protection: punishment for crimes committed on one side of it could be avoided by crossing over to the other. Medicine show "traveling show meant to attract a crowd so patent medicine can be sold to them" is American English, 1938. Medicine ball "stuffed leather ball used for exercise" is from 1889.

It is called a "medicine ball" and it got that title from Prof. Roberts, now of Springfield, whose fame is widespread, and whose bright and peculiar dictionary of terms for his prescription department in physical culture is taught in every first-class conducted Y.M.C.A. gymnasium in America. Prof. Roberts calls it a "medicine ball" because playful exercise with it invigorates the body, promotes digestion, and restores and preserves one's health. ["Scientific American Supplement," March 16, 1889]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
medicine in Medicine

medicine

(mĕd′ĭ-sĭn)
n.
  1. The science of diagnosing, treating, or preventing disease and other damage to the body or mind.
  2. The branch of this science encompassing treatment by drugs, diet, exercise, and other nonsurgical means.
  3. The practice of medicine.
  4. An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
medicine in Science

medicine

[mĕd′ĭ-sĭn]
  1. The scientific study or practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases or disorders of the body or mind of a person or animal.
  2. An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with medicine

medicine

see dose of one's own medicine; take one's medicine.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.