médicinal

Forms

médicinal (feminine médicinale, masculine plural médicinaux, feminine plural médicinales)^[1] Old French (Picard) medichinaus in the first record, then medicinal (1326); Middle French also wrote it medecinal.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin medicīnālis (“medical, of medicine”), which is derived from medicīna (“medicine”).^[2][3][5][1] The Latin noun comes from medicus (“physician”).^[4] The learned word displaced the older Old French adjectives mecinnel and mecinal (late 12th century), formed on mecine, the popular form of médecine, and medecinal (late 12th century).^[2][3][1]

Cognate with Occitan medecinal, Spanish medicinal and Italian medicinale.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Picard as medichinaus in the Miserere of the Reclus de Molliens (first quarter of the 13th century), meaning “serving to heal”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the second half of the 14th century it also meant “serving as a remedy for the soul”, a sense shared with médecine and médecin;^[2][3] the Miracles de Nostre Dame speak of a doctrine medicinalle.^[2] About 1485 it took the broader sense “relating to medicine”, still current in the 18th century.^[2][3] The strong competition of médical then pushed it back to its first meaning, “having curative properties”, the only one in common use today.^[3] Littré already noted that the old phrase matière médicinale had given way to matière médicale.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – Medichinaus “healing” in the Reclus de Molliens.^[2][3]
• 1326 – Medicinal in a document of the archives of the Nord.^[2]
• 2nd half of the 14th century – Doctrine medicinalle, a remedy for the soul, in the Miracles de Nostre Dame.^[2]
• c. 1390 – The adverb médicinalement is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1485 – Art medicinal, “relating to medicine”, in the Mystère du Viel Testament.^[2]
• c. 1560 – Paré uses the spelling médicinal.^[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having curative properties, medicinal: plante médicinale, herbe médicinale.^[7][4][1]
2. (dated) Relating to medicine.^[2][6]
3. (dated, religion) Serving as a remedy for the soul.^[6][4]

Related words

• médecine
• médecin
• médical
• Latin medicīnālis

Usage notes

In the sense “relating to medicine” the usual word is now médical.^[3][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert