Where does “medicine” come from?
Medicine derives from Middle English medicin, from Middle French medicine, from Old French medecine, from Latin medicina, itself formed from Latin medicus combined with the suffix -inus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European med- meaning to measure or consider.
medicine (English): A substance which specifically promotes healing...
Definitions
- A substance which specifically promotes healing...
Ancestry of “medicine”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | medicin | — |
| 2 | Middle French | medicine | medicine |
| 3 | Old French | medecine | medicine; remedy; medical treatment of some form |
| 4 | Latin | medicīna | — |
| 5 | Latin | medicus | healing, curative, medical; magic; a doctor,... |
| 6 | Latin | medeor | I heal, cure, remedy, am good for or against a... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | medēōr | heal |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | med- | to measure; to give advice; healing |
Words derived from “medicine”