officinal

[uh-fis-uh-nl]

adjective

kept in stock by apothecaries, as a drug.Compare magistral(def 1).

recognized by a pharmacopoeia.

noun

an officinal medicine.

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, do¹ + -īna -ine¹; cf. office) + -ālis -al¹

Related formsof·fic·i·nal·ly, adverbnon·of·fic·i·nal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for officinal

Historical Examples of officinal

It is officinal in Germany, and there must contain at least 50 per cent.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth
(1⁄200 grain) of the salt are officinal, and used by ophthalmic surgeons.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth
Both plants contain in the bark of their roots the same red dye as the officinal roots of the Alcanna tinctoria.
Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, Part III (the Text Being Chapters XXVIII-XXXIII of the London Edition, 1843, and the Appendix a Combination of the Appendices of the London and German [Coblentz, 1839] Editions)
Maximilian, Prinz von Wied
The root is quite the same as that of the officinal Radix senegæ.
Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, Part III (the Text Being Chapters XXVIII-XXXIII of the London Edition, 1843, and the Appendix a Combination of the Appendices of the London and German [Coblentz, 1839] Editions)
Maximilian, Prinz von Wied
The leaves of the uncultivated Digitalis purpurea, or purple foxglove, are officinal in our pharmacopias.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for officinal

officinal

adjective

(of pharmaceutical products) available without prescription

(of a plant) having pharmacological properties

noun

an officinal preparation or plant

Derived Formsofficinally, adverb

Word Origin for officinal

C17: from Medieval Latin officīnālis, from Latin officīna workshop; see office

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 officinal

adj.

"kept in stock by a druggist," c.1720, from French officinal, from Medieval Latin officinalis, literally "of or belonging in an officina," a storeroom (of a monastery) for medicines and necessaries, in classical Latin "workshop, manufactory, laboratory," contraction of *opificina, from opifex (genitive opificis) "worker, workman, maker, doer" (from opus "work;" see opus) + -fex, -ficis "one who does," from facere "do, perform" (see factitious). Related: Officinally.

Medicine definitions for officinal

officinal

[ə-fĭs′ə-nəl, ŏf′ĭ-sī′nəl]

adj.

Readily available in pharmacies; not requiring special preparation.

Recognized by a pharmacopoeia.

n.

An official drug.