drastic

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek δραστικός (drastikós, “active, effective, efficacious”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from δραστός (drastós, “done”), the verbal adjective of δράω (dráō, “to do, act”).^[2][5][6][7] Barnhart and Etymonline derive it instead from a form meaning "(a thing) to be done",^[4][3] and Wiktionary from δρᾶσις (drâsis, “strength, efficacy”).^[1] The Greek verb, of uncertain origin, is also the source of drama.^[3][8][6] The OED compares French drastique, recorded from 1741.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of medicines, acting with force, especially on the bowels: before 1691, in the writings of Robert Boyle.^[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a medical term, and a drastic was a strong purgative from 1783.^[2][4] The general sense, extreme, severe or violent in effect, is first recorded in 1808, in Jeremy Bentham;^[4][2][3] Barnhart suggests that it was prompted by the noun or borrowed from the same sense of French drastique.^[4] In the medical sense it is now used chiefly of purgatives.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1691 – of medicines, acting with force (Boyle).^[2][4]
• 1741 – the French word drastique recorded.^[2]
• 1783 – noun, a strong purgative.^[2][4]
• 1808 – extreme, severe, violent in effect (Bentham).^[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Extreme, forceful or severe in effect; radical: The council took drastic steps to cut spending.^[9][7][10]
2. Of a medicine, acting quickly and violently, especially as a purgative.^[7][2][10]

Noun

1. A powerful medicine, especially a strong purgative.^[7][2]

Word family

• drastically

Related words

• drama
• dramatic

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that the word usually has a negative tone, and that for positive or neutral changes dramatic is often preferred.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press