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medicor

Etymology and origin of the Latin word medicor

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*med-)

Forms

medicor (present infinitive medicārī, perfect active medicātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is the deponent form of medicō “to heal”, from medicus “physician”.[2][3] ⟨Medicus⟩ is from medeor “to heal”, which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short cite Plautus' Mostellāria and Terence for the figurative sense “to relieve”.[5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to heal, cure, treat, with the dative as in Virgil's senibus medicantur anhēlīs “they treat breathless old men”, or with the accusative, of curing a wound.[5][3] In early Latin it meant figuratively to relieve, as when Plautus says istum medicābor metum “I will cure that fear”, and Lewis & Short note that the literal sense is poetic and post-Augustan.[5]

Etymonline derives English medication from the participle stem of medicārī.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it figuratively.[5][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of relieving someone.[5][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of treating the sick.[5][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To heal, cure, treat.[2][5]
  2. (figurative) To relieve.[5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Medicor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/medicor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·