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dose

Etymology and origin of the English word dose

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1425
Borrowed from
Middle French dose
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (δόσις)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdəʊ̯s/, /ˈdɵ̞ʊ̯s/ (UK); /ˈdoʊ̯s/, /ˈdɔʊ̯s/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French dose,[2][3][4] from Late Latin dosis,[2][4] from Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis, “a giving, gift; portion of medicine”),[2][3][5] from δίδωμι (dídōmi, “to give”), from PIE Proto-Indo-European *do- (“to give”).[3] Galen and other Greek physicians used dosis for an amount of medicine.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The giving of medicine in a set amount: probably about 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's surgery,[2] the early 15th century in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

A definite quantity of medicine to be taken at one time is from 1600 in the OED,[7] and figurative doses of anything to be swallowed from 1607.[7] The verb, to give medicine, is from 1654.[2][3] An unpleasant experience is from 1847,[7] like a dose of salts, very quickly (the salts being Epsom salts, a laxative), from the mid-19th century,[6][7] and a case of venereal disease from 1914.[7][3] An amount of radiation is from 1912.[7] Dosage is from 1867.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – a giving of medicine.[2]
  • 1600 – a quantity of medicine.[7]
  • 1654 – the verb.[2]
  • 1847 – an unpleasant experience.[7]
  • 1912 – of radiation.[7]
  • 1914 – venereal disease.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A measured quantity of a medicine or drug taken at one time.
  2. An amount of radiation received or absorbed.
  3. (informal) An amount of something, especially something unpleasant: a dose of flu.
  4. (slang) A case of venereal disease.

Verb

  1. To give a dose of medicine to.

Word family

  • doser
  • isodose
  • megadose
  • underdose
  • bulldoze
  • absorbed dose
  • booster dose
  • effective dose

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dose.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/dose. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·