medicinale

Forms

medicinale m or f by sense (plural medicinali)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin medicīnālis (“used in medicine, medical”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin adjective is formed from medicīna with -ālis;^{[3][1][5][4][6]} GRADIT and Treccani derive it instead from the adjective medicīnus (“of healing”).^{[3][1][5][4][6]} De Vaan lists medicus (“doctor”) and both these words among the derivatives of medeor (“to heal”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”), with a shift of meaning from “measure” to “dispense a cure”.^[7]

The GDLI compares French médicinal, of the 16th century.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective, “having healing power, used as a remedy”, is first recorded in the Italian translation of Plutarch, before 1304, where a cup holds a beveraggio medicinale “medicinal drink”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Old texts speak of erbe medicinali “medicinal herbs” and of honey that becomes medicinale.^[8][9] The noun “drug, medicament” appears in Buonarroti the Younger in 1618; an old sense of the noun was a vessel for medicines.^[2][9][10]

In canon law pene medicinali are the penalties meant to reform the offender: excommunication, interdict and suspension.^[6]

Timeline

• Before 1304 – The adjective appears in the Italian translation of Plutarch.^[2][8]
• 1618 – Buonarroti the Younger uses medicinale as a noun.^[2][9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. medicinal: having healing properties, used as a remedy: piante medicinali.^[4][11][12]
2. (by extension) Good for the health.^[4][10]
3. (literary) Relating to medical science or to the doctor.^[4][10]

Noun

1. A medicine, a drug: Tieni i medicinali lontano dai bambini.^[4][11][12]

Word family

• medicinalmente

Related words

• medicina
• medico
• medicamento
• Latin medicīnālis

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse