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Origin and history of medicate

medicate(v.)

"to treat medicinally," 1620s, a back-formation from medication, or else from Late Latin medicatus, past participle of medicare, medicari "to medicate, heal, cure" (poetic and Late Latin) from medicus "physician; healing" (from PIE root *med- "take appropriate measures"). Related: Medicated; medicating. The earlier verb in English was simply medicinen (late 14c.).

also from 1620s

Entries linking to medicate

medication(n.)

early 15c., medicacioun, "medical treatment of a disease or wound," from Old French médication and directly from Latin medicationem (nominative medicatio) "healing, cure," noun of action from past-participle stem of medicare, medicari "to medicate, heal, cure" (poetic and Late Latin) from medicus "physician; healing" (from PIE root *med- "take appropriate measures"). Meaning "a medicinal substance or product" is by 1942.

*med-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "take appropriate measures."

It might form all or part of: accommodate; accommodation; commode; commodious; commodity; empty; immoderate; immodest; Medea; medical; medicament; medicaster; medicate; medication; medicine; medico; medico-; meditate; meditation; Medusa; meet (adj.) "proper, fitting;" mete (v.) "to allot;" modal; mode; model; moderate; modern; modest; modicum; modify; modular; modulate; module; modulation; mold (n.1) "hollow shape;" mood (n.2) "grammatical form indicating the function of a verb;" must (v.); premeditate; premeditation; remedial; remediation; remedy.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit midiur "I judge, estimate;" Avestan vi-mad- "physician;" Greek mēdomai "be mindful of," medesthai "think about," medein "to rule," medon "ruler;" Latin meditari "think or reflect on, consider," modus "measure, manner," modestus "moderate," modernus "modern," mederi "to heal, give medical attention to, cure;" Irish miduir "judge;" Welsh meddwl "mind, thinking;" Gothic miton, Old English metan "to measure out."

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    medicine
    c. 1200, "medical treatment, cure, healing," also (early 14c.) "substance used in treatment of a disease, medicinal potion or plaster," also used figuratively of spiritual remedies, from Old French medecine (Modern French médicine) "medicine, art of healing, cure, treatment, poti
    salve
    "medicinal ointment or adhesive preparation for external use on wounds and sores," Old English sealf "healing ointment," from West Germanic *salbo- "oily substance" (source also of Old Saxon salba, Middle Dutch salve, Dutch zalf, Old High German salba, German salbe "ointment"), f
    drug
    late 14c., drogge (early 14c. in Anglo-French), "any substance used in the composition or preparation of medicines," from Old French droge "supply, stock, provision" (14c.), which is of unknown origin. Perhaps it is from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge-vate "dry barrels,"
    impregnate
    c. 1600, "to fill with an ingredient, spirit, etc.;" 1640s as "make (a female) pregnant," from Late Latin impraegnatus "pregnant," past participle of impraegnare "to render pregnant," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + praegnare "make pregnant" (se
    dose
    early 15c., "the giving of medicine (in a specified amount or at a stated time)," from Old French dose (15c.) or directly from Medieval Latin dosis, from Greek dosis "a portion prescribed," literally "a giving," used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medici
    saturate
    1530s, "to satisfy, satiate, fill full" (senses now obsolete), from Latin saturatus, past participle of saturare "to fill full, sate, drench," from satur "sated, full" (from PIE root *sa- "to satisfy"). In chemistry, the meaning "to impregnate or unite with until no more can be r
    treat
    c. 1300, "negotiate, bargain, deal with," from Old French traitier "deal with, act toward; set forth (in speech or writing)" (12c.), from Latin tractare "manage, handle, deal with, conduct oneself toward," originally "drag about, tug, haul, pull violently," frequentative of trahe
    count
    late 14c., "to enumerate, assign numerals to successively and in order; repeat the numerals in order," also "to reckon among, include," from Old French conter "to count, add up," also "tell a story," from Latin computare "to count, sum up, reckon together," from com "with, togeth
    muff
    1590s, "covering into which both hands may be thrust to keep them warm," from Dutch mof "a muff," shortened from Middle Dutch moffel "mitten, muff," from  French moufle "mitten," from Old French mofle "thick glove, large mitten, handcuffs" (9c.), from Medieval Latin muffula
    adamant
    late 14c., "hard, unbreakable," from adamant (n.). The figurative sense of "unshakeable" (in belief, etc.) is by 1670s. Related: Adamantly; adamance...."a very hard stone," mid-14c., adamant, adamaunt, from Old French adamant "diamond; magnet" or directly from Latin adamantem (no

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