Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Apothecary
A-poth′e-ca-ry
,Noun.
pl.
Apothecaries
. [OE.
apotecarie
, fr. LL. apothecarius
, fr. L. apotheca
storehouse, Gr. απο
, fr. [GREEK] to put away; [GREEK] from + [GREEK] to put: cf. F. apothicaire
, OF. apotecaire
. See Thesis
.] 1.
One who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes; a druggist; a pharmacist.
☞ In England an apothecary is one of a privileged class of practitioners, licensed to prescribe medicine – a kind of sub-physician. The surgeon apothecary is the ordinary family medical attendant. One who sells drugs and makes up prescriptions is now commonly called in England a druggist or a pharmaceutical chemist.
Apothecaries’ weight
, the system of weights by which medical prescriptions were formerly compounded. The pound and ounce are the same as in Troy weight; they differ only in the manner of subdivision. The ounce is divided into 8 drams, 24 scruples, 480 grains. See
Troy weight
.Webster 1828 Edition
Apothecary
APOTH'ECARY
,Noun.
1.
One who practices pharmacy; one who prepares drugs for medicinal uses, and keeps them for sale. In England, apothecaries are obliged to prepare medicines according to the formulas prescribed by the college of physicians, and are liable to have their shops visited by the censors of the college, who have power to destroy medicines which are not good.2.
In the middle ages, an apothecary was the keeper of any shop or warehouse; and an officer appointed to take charge of a magazine.Definition 2024
apothecary
apothecary
English
Noun
apothecary (plural apothecaries)
- (now historical) A person who makes and provides/sells drugs and/or medicines.
- 1597, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act V, scene 3 (First Folio ed.)
- O true Apothecarie!
Thy drugs are quicke. Thus with a kiſſe I die.
- O true Apothecarie!
- 1597, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act V, scene 3 (First Folio ed.)
- (nonstandard, now historical) A drugstore or pharmacy.
- 1919, S.A., “Pharmacy in Russia”, in Soviet Russia, volume 1, number 27, page 6:
- The Russian people as a whole almost revered the apothecary, and they entered it as they would enter a sanctum.
- 1998, Karen Holliday Tanner, Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait, University of Oklahoma Press (2001), ISBN 978-0-8061-3320-1, pages 205–206:
- He was befriended by a local druggist, Jay Miller, who worked at the apothecary at the corner of Sixth and Harrison Street.
- 2001, Audrey Horning, “Archeology and the Science of Discovery”, in Barbara Heath et al., Jamestown Archeological Assessment, U.S. National Parks Service, page 31:
- Seeds found in a 1630s refuse-filled clay borrow pit, located near an apothecary, illustrate colonists [sic] intense interest in experimenting with the medicinal qualities of New World plants.
- 1919, S.A., “Pharmacy in Russia”, in Soviet Russia, volume 1, number 27, page 6:
Synonyms
- (person who makes and sells drugs): druggist, pharmacist, chemist
- (store that sells drugs): drugstore; pharmacy; apothecary's shop, apothecary's (UK)
Translations
pharmacist — see pharmacist
pharmacy — see pharmacy
See also
-
Apothecary on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Pharmacy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
External links
- apothecary in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- apothecary in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- apothecary at OneLook Dictionary Search