medical
/ˈmɛdɪkl̩/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.16 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to the practice of medicine.
adj
Intended to have a therapeutic effect; medicinal.
adj
Pertaining to the state of one's health.
adj
Pertaining to or requiring treatment by other than surgical means.
adj
Pertaining to medication specifically (that is, pharmacotherapy), rather than to other aspects of medicine and surgery.
Example Sentences
- "medical doctor; medical student"
- "Do you have any medical experience?"
- "The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation."
- "medical marijuana; medical cannabis; medical treatment"
- "A costly medical condition can bankrupt you if it doesn't kill you first."
- "medical examination; medical exemption; medical history; medical record; medical diagnosis"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *med- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *medos Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Italic *-ējō Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ēō Latin -eō Latin medeor Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin medicus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Medieval Latin medicālisbor. French médicalbor. English medical Borrowed from French médical, from Medieval Latin medicālis, from Latin medicus. Replaced Old English lǣċe (“doctor (physician)”), which is cognate with Icelandic læknir (“doctor”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: médical, medicālis, medicus
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.