Apothecary - Definitions from Dictionary.com

10 results for: Apothecary

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

a·poth·e·car·y

Audio Help [uh-poth-uh-ker-ee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -car·ies.

1.	a druggist; a pharmacist.

2.	a pharmacy or drugstore.

3.	(esp. in England and Ireland) a druggist licensed to prescribe medicine.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME (< OF) < ML apothécārius seller of spices and drugs, LL: shopkeeper, equiv. to L apothéc(a) shop, storehouse (< Gk apothké; see apo-, theca) + -ārius -ary

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Apothecary

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

a·poth·e·car·y Audio Help (ə-pŏth'ĭ-kěr'ē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. a·poth·e·car·ies

One that prepares and sells drugs and other medicines; a pharmacist.
See pharmacy.

[Middle English apotecarie, from Old French apotecaire and from Medieval Latin apothēcārius, both from Late Latin, clerk, from Latin apothēca, storehouse, from Greek apothēkē : apo-, away; see apo- + thēkē, receptacle; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

phar·ma·cy Audio Help (fär'mə-sē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. phar·ma·cies

The art of preparing and dispensing drugs.
A place where drugs are sold; a drugstore. Also called apothecary.

[Middle English farmacie, a purgative, from Old French, from Medieval Latin pharmacīa, a medicine, from Greek pharmakeia, use of drugs, from pharmakon, drug.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
apothecary

1366, "shopkeeper," from O.Fr. apotecaire (13c.), from L.L. apothecarius "storekeeper," from L. apotheca "storehouse," from Gk. apotheke "storehouse," lit. "a place where things are put away," from apo- "away" (see apo-) + tithenai "to put," from PIE base *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious). Cognate compounds produced Skt. apadha- "concealment," O.Pers. apadana- "palace." Drugs and herbs being among the chief items of non-perishable goods, the meaning narrowed 17c. to "druggist" (Apothecaries' Company of London separated from the Grocers' in 1617). Same root produced Fr. boutique and Sp. bodega.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

apothecary
noun
a health professional trained in the art of preparing and dispensing drugs [syn: pharmacist]

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

apothecary a·poth·e·car·y (ə-pŏth'ĭ-kěr'ē)
n. pl. a·poth·e·car·ies
Abbr. ap.

One that prepares and sells drugs and other medicines; a pharmacist.
See pharmacy.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: apoth·e·cary
Pronunciation: &-'päth-&-"ker-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -car·ies
1 : a person who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes : DRUGGIST,PHARMACIST
2 : PHARMACY 2a

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Apothecary

A*poth"e*ca*ry\, n.; pl. Apothecaries. [OE. apotecarie, fr. LL. apothecarius, fr. L. apotheca storehouse, Gr. apo, fr. ? to put away; ? from + ? to put: cf. F. apothicaire, OF. apotecaire. See Thesis.] One who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes.

Note: In England an apothecary is one of a privileged class of practitioners -- a kind of sub-physician. The surgeon apothecary is the ordinary family medical attendant. One who sells drugs and makes up prescriptions is now commonly called in England a druggist or a pharmaceutical chemist.

Apothecaries' weight, the system of weights by which medical prescriptions were formerly compounded. The pound and ounce are the same as in Troy weight; they differ only in the manner of subdivision. The ounce is divided into 8 drams, 24 scruples, 480 grains. See Troy weight.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Apothecary

rendered in the margin and the Revised Version "perfumer," in Ex. 30:25; 37:29; Eccl. 10:1. The holy oils and ointments were prepared by priests properly qualified for this office. The feminine plural form of the Hebrew word is rendered "confectionaries" in 1 Sam. 8:13.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

apothecary

apothecary: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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