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placebo

 - 7 dictionary results

pla·ce·bo

   [pluh-see-boh for 1; plah-chey-boh for 2]
–noun,plural-bos, -boes.
1.
Medicine/Medical, Pharmacology.
a.
a substance having no pharmacological effect but given merely to satisfy a patient who supposes it to be a medicine.
b.
a substance having no pharmacological effect but administered as a control in testing experimentally or clinically the efficacy of a biologically active preparation.
2.
Roman Catholic Church. the vespers of the office for the dead: so called from the initial word of the first antiphon, taken from Psalm 114:9 of the Vulgate.
Use placebo in a Sentence
Origin:
1175–1225 for def. 2; 1775–85 for def. 1; ME < L placēbō I shall be pleasing, acceptable
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
placebo (pləˈsiːbəʊ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -bos, -boes
1.  med control group See also placebo effect an inactive substance or other sham form of therapy administered to a patient usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug or treatment, but sometimes for the psychological benefit to the patient through his believing he is receiving treatment
2.  something said or done to please or humour another
3.  RC Church a traditional name for the vespers of the office for the dead
 
[C13 (in the ecclesiastical sense): from Latin Placebo Domino I shall please the Lord (from the opening of the office for the dead); C19 (in the medical sense)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

placebo
early 13c., name given to the rite of Vespers of the Office of the Dead, so called from the opening of the first antiphon, "I will please the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm cxiv:9), from L. placebo "I shall please," future indic. of placere "to please" (see please). Medical sense is first recorded 1785, "a medicine given more to please than to benefit the patient."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

pla·ce·bo definition

Pronunciation: /plə-ˈsē-(ˌ)bō/
Function: n
pl-bos; 1 : a usually pharmacologically inert preparation prescribed more for the mental relief of the patient than for its actual effect on a disorder
2 : an inert or innocuous substance used especially in controlled experiments testing the efficacy of another substance (as a drug)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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placebo pla·ce·bo (plə-sē'bō)
n. pl. pla·ce·bos or pla·ce·boes

  1. A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient's expectation to get well.

  2. An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
placebo   (plə-sē'bō)  Pronunciation Key 
A substance containing no medication and prescribed to reinforce a patient's expectation of getting well or used as a control in a clinical research trial to determine the effectiveness of a potential new drug.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary
placebo [(pluh-see-boh)]

A substance containing no active drug, administered to a patient participating in a medical experiment as a control.

Note: Those receiving a placebo often get better, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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