pharmacy English · revision 15326

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1385|origins=grc φάρμακον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfɑɹməsi/; /ˈfɑːməsi/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|fermacie]], [[bor|fro|farmacie|t=a purgative]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-med|pharmacia]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[grc|φαρμακεία|tr=pharmakeía|t=the use of drugs; a medicine or poison]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|grc|φαρμακεύς|tr=pharmakeús|t=preparer of drugs, poisoner]], from [[m|grc|φάρμακον|tr=phármakon|t=drug, poison, charm, spell]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) of uncertain origin;^(Barnhart 1988) Beekes considers it clearly Pre-Greek.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A medicine that purges the body of excess humours: about 1385, in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'', in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the OED dates this sense to about 1386.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The use or administration of drugs is from about 1400.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) The art of preparing and dispensing medicines is from 1597 in the OED, the 1650s in Etymonline,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a place where medicines are prepared or sold, a drugstore, is by 1833.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The ''ph-'' spelling was restored in French in the 16th century and in English in the 17th.^(Etymonline) Pharmacist is from 1834, in Bulwer-Lytton's ''The Last Days of Pompeii''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1385 – fermacie, a medicine.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – the use of drugs.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1597 – the art of preparing drugs.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – a drugstore.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1834 – pharmacist.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A shop or [[dispensary]] where medicines are prepared and sold; a [[chemist]] or [[drugstore]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The art or practice of preparing and dispensing [[drug|alt=drugs]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[polypharmacy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pharmacist]]

+ * [[pharmacology]]

+ * [[pharmaceutical]]

+ * [[pharmacopoeia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}