Etymologically
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veterinarian

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 04:28. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˌvɛt(ə)ɹəˈnɛɹ.i.ən/, /ˌvɛtʃ.ɹɪnˈɛɹ.i.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin veterīnārius (“of beasts of burden; a cattle doctor”) with the English suffix -an.[2][3][4][5] The Latin word is from veterīnus (“of beasts of burden”), whose plural veterīnae meant beasts of burden,[6][2][5] and this is from vetus (“old”), the source of veteran,[5] from Proto-Indo-European *wet-.[6] Etymonline suggests the notion of experienced animals, or of yearlings strong enough to draw loads, and reports a theory cited by de Vaan that horses were seen as the old stock because they lived longest of all cattle; the sense connection is uncertain.[5] Compare French vétérinaire, a noun in this sense from 1571, and veterinario, from 1585.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person skilled in treating the diseases and injuries of animals: 1646, in Sir Thomas Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica,[2][3] in a passage, quoted by Johnson, saying that the belief that a horse has no gall is accepted by common farriers and even by good veterinarians.[7]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the word replaced the native dog-leech (1520s).[5] In 1656 Blount's Glossographia also used it for a person who hires out horses, after Cooper's Latin dictionary of 1565, which glossed the Latin word that way; this sense did not last.[2] The adjective, meaning veterinary, is recorded from 1716,[2] and veterinary itself as an adjective by 1766.[5] The Shorter Oxford calls the noun now chiefly North American,[4] while British English prefers veterinary surgeon.[8]

Timeline

  • 1646 – a person skilled in treating diseases of animals, in Sir Thomas Browne.[2][3]
  • 1656 – a person who hires out horses, in Blount (now obsolete).[2]
  • 1716 – adjective, veterinary.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person qualified and licensed to treat the diseases and injuries of animals; a vet: We took the injured dog to the veterinarian.[8][3][2]

Adjective

  1. Veterinary.[2][4]

Word family

Usage notes

The noun is now chiefly North American;[4] in Britain the usual term is veterinary surgeon.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins