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Medicine

- 10 dictionary results

med⋅i⋅cine

[med-uh-sin or, especially Brit., med-suhn] noun, verb, -cined, -cin⋅ing.
–noun
1. any substance or substances used in treating disease or illness; medicament; remedy.
2. the art or science of restoring or preserving health or due physical condition, as by means of drugs, surgical operations or appliances, or manipulations: often divided into medicine proper, surgery, and obstetrics.
3. the art or science of treating disease with drugs or curative substances, as distinguished from surgery and obstetrics.
4. the medical profession.
5. (among North American Indians) any object or practice regarded as having magical powers.
–verb (used with object)
6. to administer medicine to.
7. give someone a dose or taste of his or her own medicine, to repay or punish a person for an injury by use of the offender's own methods.
8. take one's medicine, to undergo or accept punishment, esp. deserved punishment: He took his medicine like a man.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME medicin < L medicīna (ars) healing (art), fem. of medicīnus pertaining to a physician. See medical, -ine 1


1. medication, drug; pharmaceutical; physic.
med·i·cine   (měd'ĭ-sĭn)   
n.  
    1. The science of diagnosing, treating, or preventing disease and other damage to the body or mind.
    2. The branch of this science encompassing treatment by drugs, diet, exercise, and other nonsurgical means.
    3. Shamanistic practices or beliefs, especially among Native Americans.
    4. Something, such as a ritual practice or sacred object, believed to control natural or supernatural powers or serve as a preventive or remedy.
  1. The practice of medicine.
  2. An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.
  3. Something that serves as a remedy or corrective: medicine for rebuilding the economy; measures that were harsh medicine.
    1. Shamanistic practices or beliefs, especially among Native Americans.
    2. Something, such as a ritual practice or sacred object, believed to control natural or supernatural powers or serve as a preventive or remedy.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin medicīna, from feminine of medicīnus, of a doctor, from medicus, physician; see medical.]

Medicine

Med"i*cine\, n. [L. medicina (sc. ars), fr. medicinus medical, fr. medicus: cf. F. m['e]decine. See Medical.]

1. The science which relates to the prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease.

2. Any substance administered in the treatment of disease; a remedial agent; a remedy; physic.

By medicine, life may be prolonged. --Shak.

3. A philter or love potion. [Obs.] --Shak.

4. [F. m['e]decin.] A physician. [Obs.] --Shak.

Medicine bag, a charm; -- so called among the North American Indians, or in works relating to them.

Medicine man (among the North American Indians), a person who professes to cure sickness, drive away evil spirits, and regulate the weather by the arts of magic.

Medicine seal, a small gem or paste engraved with reversed characters, to serve as a seal. Such seals were used by Roman physicians to stamp the names of their medicines.

Medicine

Med"i*cine\, v. t. To give medicine to; to affect as a medicine does; to remedy; to cure. "Medicine thee to that sweet sleep." --Shak.

Medicine

Med"i*cine\, n. 1. (a) Among the North American Indians, any object supposed to give control over natural or magical forces, to act as a protective charm, or to cause healing; also, magical power itself; the potency which a charm, token, or rite is supposed to exert.

The North American Indian boy usually took as his medicine the first animal of which he dreamed during the long and solitary fast that he observed at puberty. --F. H. Giddings. (b) Hence, a similar object or agency among other savages.

2. Short for Medicine man.

3. Intoxicating liquor; drink. [Slang]
Language Translation for : Medicine
Spanish: medicina,
German: die Medizin,
Japanese:

medicine 
c.1225, from L. medicina, originally ars medicina "the medical art," from fem. of medicinus (adj.) "of a doctor," from medicus "a physician" (see medical). To take (one's) medicine "submit to something disagreeable" is first recorded 1865. N.Amer. Indian medicine-man "shaman" is first attested 1801, from Amer. Indian adoption of the word in sense of "magical influence." The U.S.-Canadian boundary they called Medicine Line (first attested 1910), because it conferred a kind of magic protection: punishment for crimes committed on one side of it could be avoided by crossing over to the other. Medicine show "traveling show meant to attract a crowd so patent medicine can be sold to them" is Amer.Eng., 1938. Medicine ball "stuffed leather ball used for exercise" is from 1895.

Main Entry: med·i·cine
Pronunciation: 'med-&-s&n, Brit usu 'med-s&n
Function: noun
1 : a substance or preparationused in treating disease
2 a : the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease b : the branch ofmedicine concerned with the nonsurgical treatment of disease

medicine med·i·cine (měd'ĭ-sĭn)
n.

  1. The science of diagnosing, treating, or preventing disease and other damage to the body or mind.
  2. The branch of this science encompassing treatment by drugs, diet, exercise, and other nonsurgical means.
  3. The practice of medicine.
  4. An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.

medicine   (měd'ĭ-sĭn)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. The scientific study or practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases or disorders of the body or mind of a person or animal.
  2. An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.

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