physician

[fi-zish-uhn]

noun

1. a person who is legally qualified to practice medicine; doctor of medicine.

2. a person engaged in general medical practice, as distinguished from one specializing in surgery.

3. a person who is skilled in the art of healing.

physician

/ fɪˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. a person legally qualified to practise medicine, esp one specializing in areas of treatment other than surgery; doctor of medicine

2. archaic,  any person who treats diseases; healer

Other Word Forms

• physicianly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of physician¹

1175–1225; physic + -ian ( -ician ); replacing Middle English fisicien < Old French

Word History and Origins

Origin of physician¹

C13: from Old French fisicien, from fisique _physic

Example Sentences

That advice dismayed physicians, who say that fevers during pregnancy are a greater risk for the unborn and that acetaminophen is safer than alternative fever-reducing medicines.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Angels lawyers will tell the jury that taking opioids prescribed by a physician during recovery from surgery is vastly different than Skaggs chopping up and snorting counterfeit pills that were not prescribed for him.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Purdue Pharma targeted physicians with high opioid prescribing rates and courted them like it was Saturday night.

Read more on Salon

Even when seeking prior authorization, 31% of physicians said they are “often or always” denied, according to a December 2024 survey by the American Medical Association, up from 27% a year earlier.

Read more on MarketWatch

People with hepatitis B have 100 million to 10 billion infectious particles per milliliter of blood, says Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• doctor 
• specialist 
• surgeon