Etymologically
Log in

medicina

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /me.diˈt͡ʃi.na/[1]

Forms

medicina f (plural medicine)[1] Old and dialect forms include Old Italian medecina, Old Italian medesina, Old Italian medexina, Old Italian medizina, Old Italian meesina and Old Italian midicina.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin medicīna (“the art of healing; a remedy”), a learned word.[3][4][5][1] The Latin noun is short for a phrase with ars (“art”), “the doctor's art”, and is the feminine of the adjective medicīnus (“of a doctor”), from medicus (“doctor”) (see medico).[5][6][1][7]

DEI notes that the Latin word lived on as a popular word in the northern dialects, in Logudorese, Old French, Occitan, Catalan and Portuguese, mostly with the sense “poison”, and a Medieval Latin medicinaria “poisoner” is recorded at Cremona in 1379.[8] Meyer-Lübke lists Piedmontese meizina, Ligurian mezina, Sardinian meigina, Old French messine, Old Occitan metzina, Catalan metzina (“poison”) and Portuguese mezinha.[9] The form Old Italian meesina of Uguccione da Lodi, early in the 13th century, belongs to these northern forms.[3] The learned word is also French médecine, recorded from the 12th century, and Spanish medicina.[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before the learned form, meesina appears in the northern poem of Uguccione da Lodi, early in the 13th century.[3] Medicina itself is first recorded in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for the science of disease and its treatment.[3][5] In his Rettorica Latini says that the art of medicine was drawn from natural science (di questa scienzia fue ritratta l'arte di medicina).[2]

Semantic evolution

The popular sense “drug, medicament” is found in a 13th-century Florentine chronicle, the wider “cure, remedy” in Bono Giamboni before 1292, and the figurative sense of anything that brings relief or comfort in the early 14th century.[3] DEI dates the sense “drug” to the 14th century and finds Cellini using the word for a rule of hygiene.[8] The adjective medicinale is recorded before 1304.[4]

The branches of modern medicine named themselves with fixed phrases: medicina legale “forensic medicine” in 1819, medicina del lavoro “occupational medicine” in 1931 and medicina interna in 1939–1940.[3] The word also names the university faculty and the course of study.[5][10] Medicina alternativa for the treatments outside official medicine, such as acupuncture and homoeopathy, is quoted from La Repubblica of 1986.[2]

Timeline

  • Early 13th century – The northern form meesina in Uguccione da Lodi.[3]
  • 13th century – The sense “drug” in a Florentine chronicle.[3]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a cure or remedy.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses medicina for the science.[3][5]
  • Before 1304 – Medicinale is recorded.[4]
  • 1379 – Medieval Latin medicinaria “poisoner” at Cremona.[8]
  • 1819 – Medicina legale is recorded.[3]
  • 1931 – Medicina del lavoro is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. medicine, the science that studies diseases and how to recognize, prevent and treat them: Ha dedicato la vita alla medicina.[5][11][10]
  2. The university faculty or degree course of medicine: Mia sorella studia medicina a Padova.[5][10][12]
  3. The profession of a doctor.[6][12]
  4. A medicine, a drug taken to cure an illness: Ricordati di prendere la medicina dopo cena.[5][10][12]
  5. (figurative) A remedy for a physical or moral ill: Il lavoro è stato la sua medicina contro la solitudine.[5][10]
  6. (uncommon) A substance added to correct or improve another, such as wine.[5][12]

Word family

  • medicinale
  • medicinare

Usage notes

Fixed phrases name the branches of the science: medicina legale (forensic medicine), medicina interna, medicina del lavoro, medicina preventiva and medicina alternativa.[5][11][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2403
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  12. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli