ἰατρικός

Forms

ἰᾱτρικός (iātrikós), ἰᾱτρική, ἰᾱτρικόν; first and second declension, Ionic ἰητρικός.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek ἰατρός (iātrós, “physician”) + -ικός (-ikós): "of or for a physician".^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest use is the feminine taken as a noun, ἡ ἰητρική (understood τέχνη, "art"), "medicine", in Herodotus, who uses it of Egyptian medicine.^[2][1][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 5th and 4th centuries BC the noun ἡ ἰατρική, "the art of medicine", is common in the Hippocratic writings and in Plato, Xenophon and Aristotle, where medicine is a standard example of an art.^[2][1] As an adjective it describes persons skilled in medicine, instruments such as cupping-glasses, a medical operation or treatise, and in Plato figuratively someone who can heal the soul.^[1][2] The neuter plural τὰ ἰατρικά meant medical matters; in Hellenistic inscriptions and papyri the neuter ἰατρικόν was a tax paid for the upkeep of a public physician, and in Arrian a medical corps.^[2][1]

The word was borrowed into Sahidic Coptic.^[5] Modern Greek ιατρικός (iatrikós) "medical" is a learned revival of it.^[3]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus calls the art of medicine ἡ ἰητρική.^[2][1]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato and Xenophon use the adjective of persons skilled in medicine.^[2][1]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle notes that no one becomes skilled in medicine from books alone.^[2]
• 3rd century BC – Inscriptions and papyri record the neuter ἰατρικόν (iātrikón), a tax for the physician.^[2]
• Modern Greek – The word is revived in learned use as ιατρικός (iatrikós).^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a physician or to treatment; medical (of instruments, assistance, a treatise, an operation).^[1][2]
2. Of persons, skilled in medicine; figuratively, able to heal the soul.^[2][1]
3. Of drugs, efficacious.^[2]

Noun

1. ἡ ἰατρική (feminine): the art of medicine or surgery.^[1][2]
2. τὰ ἰατρικά (neuter plural): medical matters or duties.^[1]
3. τὸ ἰατρικόν (neuter): a tax for the upkeep of a public physician; in Arrian, a medical corps.^[2]
4. ὁ ἰατρικός (masculine, understood δάκτυλος "finger"): the forefinger.^[2]

Related words

• ἰατρός (īātrós)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
4. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig