medicine

[med-uh-sin, med-suhn]

noun

1. any substance or substances used in treating disease or illness; medicament; remedy.

   Synonyms: physic, pharmaceutical, drug, medication

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.

verb (used with object)

medicined, medicining 

1. to administer medicine to.

medicine

/ ˈmɛdsɪn, ˈmɛdɪsɪn /

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 medicine

   he's in medicine

5. something regarded by primitive people as having magical or remedial properties

6. to accept a deserved punishment

7. an unpleasant experience in retaliation for and by similar methods to an unkind or aggressive act

medicine

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.

Other Word Forms

• antimedicine adjective
• supermedicine noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of medicine¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English medicin, from Latin medicīna (ars) “healing (art),” feminine of medicīnus “pertaining to a physician,” from medic(us) “physician” ( medical ) + -īnus -ine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of medicine¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

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

Example Sentences

She lost before a federal judge and a U.S. appeals court, both of whom said the state has the authority to regulate the practice of medicine and to prevent substandard healthcare.

From Los Angeles Times

Pfizer, for its part, said the arrangement ensures that “U.S. patients pay lower prices for their prescription medicine.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jim Walker, her great-great-grandfather and a respected medicine man, rode mustangs all the way to Florida, visiting tribes along the way to exchange medicine and horses.

From Los Angeles Times

O’Neill has no training in medicine or healthcare and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in humanities, according to the Associated Press, and is a former investor who has been a critic of health regulations.

From Los Angeles Times

Other states followed, relying on their authority to regulate the practice of medicine and to prohibit substandard care.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• antibiotic 
• cure 
• drug 
• medication 
• pharmaceutical 
• pill 
• prescription 
• remedy