officinal

[ uh-fis-uh-nl ]

/ əˈfɪs ə nl /

adjective

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

recognized by a pharmacopoeia.

noun

an officinal medicine.

Nearby words

officialize, officially, officiant, officiary, officiate, officinal, officious, officious will, officiously, offing, offish

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

The Acetate crystallises in tufts of needles; as stated, it is not officinal in any of the European pharmacopœias.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth
An ointment, made of one part of the extract to nine of simple ointment, is officinal in the German pharmacopœia.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth
The leaves are the officinal part, and their active properties depend on a peculiar, oily-like alkaloid, called Nicotin.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds
The rhizome, which is the officinal part, though yellow in the recent root, becomes of a dark yellowish-brown by age.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

Some of the plants were once used as a purgative, as in the case of the officinal polyporus, the great puff ball, etc.
Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc.|George Francis Atkinson

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 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

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.