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; cf. office) + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

The biennial form is that which is considered officinal.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various

Among the most frequent of our sea-weeds, both as growing in the rock pools and cast ashore, is Chondrus crispus, already twice referred to in connexion with its officinal uses.

From Sea-Weeds, Shells and Fossils by Gray, Peter

The officinal part is the bark, which comes off from the rhizomes.

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 long horizontal aromatic roots a substitute for officinal Sarsaparilla.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

The leaves made into a tincture or infusion are now an officinal drug, valued in catarrh of the throat or stomach.

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