medicine
- any substance or substances used in treating disease or illness; medicament; remedy.
- 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.
- the art or science of treating disease with drugs or curative substances, as distinguished from surgery and obstetrics.
- the medical profession.
- (among North American Indians) any object or practice regarded as having magical powers.
- to administer medicine to.
- 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.
- take one's medicine, to undergo or accept punishment, especially deserved punishment: He took his medicine like a man.
Origin of medicine
Synonyms for medicine
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.commedical dictionary
- 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.
Related Words for medicine
pharmaceutical, medication, antibiotic, drug, remedy, cure, prescription, pill, anesthetic, tincture, antidote, balm, salve, dose, tablet, vaccination, physic, tonic, potion, antisepticExamples from the Web for medicine
Contemporary Examples of medicine
The trials produced positive results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in November.
The religion shaped all facets of life: art, medicine, literature, and even dynastic politics.
Certain trades, such as medicine or law, are eternally well-respected.
In this understanding, art is like a medicine or a toxin, transforming its audience for good or ill.
Though her work discords with the conventions of American medicine, she sees herself on the side of an older tradition.
Historical Examples of medicine
Beatrice, what have you done with my new bottle of medicine?
Life and Death of Harriett FreanMay Sinclair
Then she exchanged it for one of the same size on the medicine tray.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
There was a mistake about the medicine, and she was blamed; that's all.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
"It was the dark-eyed one that changed the medicine on me," he said.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
But let us reason together, brother; don't you believe at all in medicine?
The Imaginary InvalidMolire
medicine
- any drug or remedy for use in treating, preventing, or alleviating the symptoms of disease
- the science of preventing, diagnosing, alleviating, or curing disease
- any nonsurgical branch of medical science
- the practice or profession of medicinehe's in medicine Related adjectives: Aesculapian, iatric
- something regarded by primitive people as having magical or remedial properties
- take one's medicine to accept a deserved punishment
- 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
Word Origin for medicine
Word Origin and History for medicine
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]
medicine
(mĕd′ĭ-sĭn)- The science of diagnosing, treating, or preventing disease and other damage to the body or mind.
- The branch of this science encompassing treatment by drugs, diet, exercise, and other nonsurgical means.
- The practice of medicine.
- An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.
medicine
- The scientific study or practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases or disorders of the body or mind of a person or animal.
- An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.
Idioms and Phrases with medicine
medicine
see dose of one's own medicine; take one's medicine.