officinal

American  

[uh-fis-uh-nl] / əˈfɪs ə nl /

adjective

1. kept in stock by apothecaries, as a drug.

2. recognized by a pharmacopoeia.

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noun

1. an officinal medicine.

officinal British  

/ ɒˈfɪsɪnəl, ˌɒfɪˈsaɪnəl /

adjective

1. (of pharmaceutical products) available without prescription

2. (of a plant) having pharmacological properties

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noun

1. an officinal preparation or plant

Other Word Forms

• nonofficinal adjective
• officinally adverb

Etymology

Origin of officinal

1710–20; < Medieval Latin officīnālis of a store or workshop, equivalent to Latin officīn ( a ) workshop, presumably contraction of opificīna ( opific-, stem of opifex artisan, equivalent to opi-, combining form akin to opus work + -fic-, combining form of facere to make, do ¹ + -īna -ine ¹; office ) + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

I know of nothing new here except an essay on the natural history of Cayenne, and a catalogue of officinal plants.

From Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History by MacGillivray, William

The Kutki is another officinal plant with a woody root, and a stem containing many alternate leaves, toothed on the edges, and shaped like a spathula. 

From An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha by Hamilton, Francis

It has also been adopted among physicians as an officinal drug.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth

The officinal rhubarb is the root of an undetermined species.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

The dose of the authorised officinal juice is from one to two teaspoonfuls, and from five to twenty grains of the prepared extract.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas