prescribe
[pri-skrahyb]
- to lay down, in writing or otherwise, as a rule or a course of action to be followed; appoint, ordain, or enjoin.
- Medicine/Medical. to designate or order the use of (a medicine, remedy, treatment, etc.).
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- to lay down rules; direct; dictate.
- Medicine/Medical. to designate remedies, treatment, etc., to be used.
- Law. to claim a right or title by virtue of long use and enjoyment; make a prescriptive claim. (usually followed by for or to).
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Origin of prescribe
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin praescrībere to direct in writing, literally, to write before or above, equivalent to prae- pre- + scrībere to write; see scribe1, prescription
Synonyms
See more synonyms for prescribe on Thesaurus.com1. direct, dictate, decree.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for prescribed
Contemporary Examples
He was prescribed a course of hormone pills that caused him to grow breasts and rendered him impotent.
As such, it could not be prescribed by physicians and could not be dispensed by pharmacies.
“Overdose rates are higher where these drugs are prescribed more frequently,” says Frieden.
She began to attend therapy and to see a psychiatrist, who prescribed an antidepressant.
Codeine should not have been prescribed for these patients because its metabolism in children varies widely from person to person.
Historical Examples
They recite in a timid and indistinct tone the prescribed fustian.
For this end he is fed, clothed, and prescribed for in sickness.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
In short, fat is eaten daily by all ranks of people, in some way or other, in much larger quantities than is prescribed for soup.
A patient of his, you might say; anyhow, he prescribed for her.
Cy Whittaker's PlaceJoseph C. Lincoln
If he caught cold there was the medicine Doctor Harley had prescribed.
Mary-'GustaJoseph C. Lincoln
prescribe
- to lay down as a rule or directive
- law to claim or acquire (a right, title, etc) by prescription
- law to make or become invalid or unenforceable by lapse of time
- med to recommend or order the use of (a drug or other remedy)
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin praescrībere to write previously, from prae before + scrībere to write
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for prescribed
prescribe
v.
"to write down as a direction," mid-15c., from Latin praescribere "write beforehand" (see prescription). Related: Prescribed; prescribing. Medical sense is from 1580s, probably a back formation from prescription.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
prescribe
(prĭ-skrīb′)- To give directions, either orally or in writing, for the preparation and administration of a remedy to be used in the treatment of a disease.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.