pharmaceutic
- noun
- /ˌfɑːrməˈsjuːtɪk/
- Specialized
- Researchers are developing a new pharmaceutic to treat rare genetic disorders.
Examples
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You should consult a doctor before taking any pharmaceutic.
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Many pharmaceutics are developed to treat chronic illnesses.
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The hospital has a strict policy for issuing any pharmaceutic to patients.
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Is this pharmaceutic safe for children?
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The new pharmaceutic was approved for use in treating high blood pressure.
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Before starting any pharmaceutic, it is important to discuss potential side effects with your doctor.
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Patients can obtain their prescribed pharmaceutic from the local pharmacy.
Synonyms
A medicine or chemical that treats illness and sometimes changes how someone feels
A medicine used to treat or prevent illness
A substance used to treat, prevent, or reduce symptoms of illness
Surface Forms
Morphology
pharmaceutic = pharmacy (opaque) = pharmaceut + ic
The noun sense 'a drug' does not follow a regular derivation from 'pharmacy' + -ic and the meaning is not directly predictable from the base form.
Etymology
Pharmaceutic comes from the old Greek word pharmakon, which meant 'drug' or 'medicine'. Like the words pharmacy and pharmacist, it points to a substance made in a pharmacy to treat patients, so a pharmaceutic is a medicine prepared or given for medical treatment.