physic
/ˈfɪz.ɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.50 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Relating to or concerning existent materials; physical.
Example Sentences
- "Harke yee Lords, you ſee I haue giuen her Phiſicke, / And you muſt needs beſtovv her Funerall, […]"
- "I ſhould not thinke it ſtrange, for 'tis a phyſicke / That's bitter, to ſweet end."
- "Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief."
- "Learn before thou speak, and use physick or ever thou be sick."
- "...and thus draw out all the unwholesome Air and Stench, which does more harm than any Physick can repair."
- "When I left Mr. Bates, I went down to my Father; where, by the Aſſiſtance of him and my Uncle John, and ſome other Relations, I got forty Pounds, and a Promiſe of thirty Pounds a year to maintain me at Leyden: there I ſtudied Phyſick two years and ſeven months, knowing it would be uſeful in long Voyages."
Etymology
From Middle English phisik, from Latin physicus, from Ancient Greek φῠσῐκός (phŭsĭkós, “natural; physical”), from φύσις (phúsis, “origin, birth; nature, quality; form, shape; type, kind”), from φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō, “grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: phisik, physicus, φῠσῐκός, *bʰuH-, fysike, fisike
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfɪz.ɪk/
- British English: /ˈfɪz.ɪk/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more physic (comparative)
most physic (superlative)
phisicke (alternative)
physick (alternative)
physics (plural)
physics (present, singular)
physicking (participle, present)
physicked (participle, past)
physicked (past)