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Webster 1913 Edition

Doctor

Doc′tor

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Doctored
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Doctoring
.]
1.
To treat as a physician does; to apply remedies to; to repair;
as, to
doctor
a sick man or a broken cart
.
[Colloq.]
2.
To confer a doctorate upon; to make a doctor.
3.
To tamper with and arrange for one’s own purposes; to falsify; to adulterate;
as, to
doctor
election returns; to
doctor
whisky.
[Slang]

Doc′tor

,
Verb.
I.
To practice physic.
[Colloq.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Doctor

DOCTOR

,
Noun.
[L., to teach.]
1.
A teacher.
There stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law. Acts 5.
2.
One who has passed all the degrees of a faculty, and is empowered to practice and teach it, as a doctor in divinity, in physic, in law; or according to modern usage, ad person who has received the highest degree in a faculty. The degree of doctor is conferred by universities and colleges, as an honorary mark of literary distinction. It is also conferred on physicians, as a professional degree.
3.
A learned man; a man skilled in a profession; a man of erudition.
4.
A physician; one whose occupation is to cure diseases.
5.
The title, doctor, is given to certain fathers of the church whose opinions are received as authorities, and in the Greek church, it is given to a particular officer who interprets the scriptures.
Doctors Commons, the college of civilians in London.

DOCTOR

,
Verb.
T.
To apply medicines for the cure of diseases. [A popular use of this word, but not elegant.]

DOCTOR

,
Verb.
I.
To practice physic. [Not elegant.]

Definition 2024

Doctor

Doctor

See also: doctor

English

Noun

Doctor ‎(plural Doctors)

  1. The title of an academic or medical doctor (a person who holds a doctorate); used before or instead of the doctor's name.
    The students asked to see Doctor Jones.
    Doctor Smith carried out the medical procedure.
    Well, Doctor, what do you think? Will he live?

Synonyms

  • (abbreviated forms) Dr / Dr.

Translations

See also

doctor

doctor

See also: Doctor

English

Alternative forms

Noun

doctor ‎(plural doctors)

  1. A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick. The final examination and qualification may award a doctor degree in which case the post-nominal letters are D.O., DPM, M.D., DMD, DDS, DPT, DC, Pharm.D., in the US or MBBS in the UK.
    If you still feel unwell tomorrow, see your doctor.
    • Shakespeare
      By medicine life may be prolonged, yet death / Will seize the doctor too.
  2. A person who has attained a doctorate, such as a Ph.D. or Th.D. or one of many other terminal degrees conferred by a college or university.
  3. A veterinarian; a medical practitioner who treats animals.
  4. A nickname for a person who has special knowledge or talents to manipulate or arrange transactions.
  5. (obsolete) A teacher; one skilled in a profession or a branch of knowledge; a learned man.
    • Francis Bacon
      one of the doctors of Italy, Nicholas Macciavel
  6. (dated) Any mechanical contrivance intended to remedy a difficulty or serve some purpose in an exigency.
    the doctor of a calico-printing machine, which is a knife to remove superfluous colouring matter
    the doctor, or auxiliary engine, also called "donkey engine"
    • 2010, Ramesh Bangia, Dictionary of Information Technology (page 172)
      The use of a disk doctor may be the only way of recovering valuable data following a disk crash.
  7. A fish, the friar skate.

Usage notes

  • Doctor is capitalized when used as a title:
    Doctor Smith
  • In the UK and Commonwealth a surgeon (including a dental or veterinary surgeon) is commonly addressed as Mister rather than Doctor, even if holding a doctor's degree.

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also Types of academic doctor below

Translations

Related terms

Verb

doctor ‎(third-person singular simple present doctors, present participle doctoring, simple past and past participle doctored)

  1. (transitive) To act as a medical doctor to.
    Her children doctored her back to health.
  2. (transitive) To make (someone) into an (academic) doctor; to confer a doctorate upon.
  3. (transitive) To physically alter (medically or surgically) a living being in order to change growth or behavior.
    They doctored their apple trees by vigorous pruning, and now the dwarfed trees are easier to pick.
    We may legally doctor a pet to reduce its libido.
  4. (transitive) To genetically alter an extant species.
    Mendel's discoveries showed how the evolution of a species may be doctored.
  5. (transitive) To alter or make obscure, as with the intention to deceive, especially a document.
    To doctor the signature of an instrument with intent to defraud is an example of forgery.

Translations

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: engaged · America · servant · #994: doctor · Michael · fee · excellent

Asturian

Noun

doctor m ‎(plural doctores)

  1. doctor (person who has attained a doctorate)

Catalan

Noun

doctor m ‎(plural doctors)

  1. doctor

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdɔktɔr/, /ˈdɔktər/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch doctor, from Latin doctor ‎(“teacher, instructor”).

Noun

doctor m ‎(plural doctors or doctoren, diminutive doctortje n)

  1. doctor (person who has attained a doctorate)

Synonyms

Related terms

See also

Latin

Etymology

From doceō ‎(“teach”) +‎ -tor.

Pronunciation

Noun

doctor m ‎(genitive doctōris); third declension

  1. teacher, instructor
    • c. 99 BCE – 55 BCE, Lucretius, De rerum natura 5.1310–1312
      […] et validos partim prae se misere leones
      cum doctoribus armatis saevisque magistris
      qui moderarier his possent vinclisque tenere,
      […] and some let out before them strong lions,
      with armed trainers and fierce masters
      to manage them and hold them in restraints,
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) catechist

Declension

Third declension.

Case Singular Plural
nominative doctor doctōrēs
genitive doctōris doctōrum
dative doctōrī doctōribus
accusative doctōrem doctōrēs
ablative doctōre doctōribus
vocative doctor doctōrēs

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

References

Romanian

Alternative forms

  • doftor (popular)
  • доктор (post-1930s (Moldavian) Cyrillic spelling)

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin doctor (17th century), French docteur or German Doktor.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ ˈdok.tor ]

Noun

doctor m ‎(plural doctori, feminine equivalent doctoriță or (nonstandard) doctoră)

  1. doctor

Declension

See also

Spanish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin doctor.

Noun

doctor m ‎(plural doctores, feminine doctora)

  1. doctor (Ph.D.)
  2. physician

Synonyms

Related terms

Pronunciation

Similar Results