officinal

[ uh-fis-uh-nl ]

/ əˈfɪs ə nl /

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adjective

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

recognized by a pharmacopoeia.

noun

an officinal medicine.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM officinal

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

Words nearby officinal

Official Solicitor, official strike, officiant, officiary, officiate, officinal, officious, officious will, offing, offish, off-island

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use officinal in a sentence

The seed and oil, and a spirit and a water prepared from them, are officinal in the pharmacopias.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
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
Named from the country Liguria, where the officinal Lovage of the gardens abounds.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

The pubic louse may be exterminated by the measures recommended for the head louse, or by the use of officinal mercurial ointment.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for officinal

officinal

/ (ɒˈfɪsɪnəl, ˌɒfɪˈsaɪnəl) pharmacol obsolete /

adjective

(of pharmaceutical products) available without prescription

(of a plant) having pharmacological properties

noun

an officinal preparation or plant

Derived forms of officinal

officinally, 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

Medical 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.

An official drug.