Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “physic” come from?

Physic comes from Middle English fysike, from Old French fisike, from Latin physica, from Ancient Greek φυσικός meaning "of nature," derived from the suffix -ικός.

physic (English): Relating to or concerning existent materials;...

Definitions

  1. Relating to or concerning existent materials;...

Ancestry of “physic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfysike—
2Old Frenchfisikenatural science, art of healing
3Latinphysicanatural sciences; natural philosophy; physics;...
4Ancient Greekφυσικόςnatural, produced or caused by nature, inborn,...
5Ancient Greekφύσιςorigin, birth; nature, quality, property; later,...
6Ancient GreekφύωTo bring forth, produce, generate, cause to grow;...
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanbʰuHyétito be becoming, to be growing, to be appearing
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “physic”

  • physically
  • metaphysically
  • metaphysic
  • nonphysically
  • physicism
  • physicky
  • physicker
Every word from Chichewa iye →