dispensaire

Forms

dispensaire m (plural dispensaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English dispensary (1699), which is formed on the verb dispense (“to distribute”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Rey traces the English word to the stem of Latin dispēnsus, past participle of dispendō (“to weigh out, distribute”), with the suffix -ary; the first such establishment was founded in England in 1699.^[7][5]

The Middle French noun for a book on the preparation of remedies (1573) has a separate source: it comes from dispenser in the sense “to measure out”, and English borrowed it in 1710.^[2][7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1745, in the Abbé Le Blanc's letters about England, of the London dispensary that the poet Garth had celebrated;^[2][7][5] Bloch and Wartburg date this use to 1775.^[2][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The word at first named an English institution, a place where the poor sick received care and medicines.^[7][5] It was applied to French establishments from 1803,^[7][8][3] and in 1823 L. Jacques's medical dictionary described one supported by subscribers who gave cards to poor patients.^[2] The Académie recorded it in 1827.^[4]

Today it names a public or private centre that gives free or inexpensive medical care, and carries out screening and prevention of some diseases.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 1699 – English dispensary is first recorded.^[2][7]
• 1745 – The Abbé Le Blanc uses dispensaire of an English institution.^[2][7]
• 1803 – First use of a French establishment.^[7][8]
• 1823 – L. Jacques's dictionary of medical terms defines it.^[2][10]
• 1827 – The Académie records it.^[4][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A public or private medical clinic giving free or cheap care, with screening and prevention of disease; a dispensary, as in Elle a fait vacciner ses enfants au dispensaire du quartier.^[8][9][2]
2. (obsolete) A pharmacopoeia, a book of formulas for medicines, or a laboratory where they were prepared.^[11][4]

Related words

• dispenser
• English dispensary

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 18, 51b
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette