apothecary

C2+ Topic:Communication

US /əˈpɑθəkɛri/ UK /əˈpɒθɪk(ə)ri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an archaic term for a pharmacist who prepared and sold medicines

The apothecary ground the herbs with a worn brass pestle.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an archaic term for a... pharmacist chemist druggist dispenser

Word family

Related forms bodegaboutiqueapothecium

Simplified etymology

Apothecary ultimately shares its origin with boutique in Greek apothēkē, meaning “storehouse.” It was established in English by the late Middle Ages.

Etymology

From Late Latin apothecarius ('storekeeper'), from Latin apotheca ('storehouse'), from Greek apothēkē ('storehouse'), from apo- ('away') + tithenai ('to put').

apothḗkē Ancient Greek tithénai Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# apothecary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈpɑθəkɛri/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈpɒθɪk(ə)ri/

## Meanings
1. an archaic term for a pharmacist who prepared and sold medicines

## Examples
- The apothecary ground the herbs with a worn brass pestle.

## Synonyms
- pharmacist
- chemist
- druggist
- dispenser

## Related Forms
- bodega
- boutique
- apothecium

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: apothḗkē
- Root: tithénai

## Etymology
From Late Latin apothecarius ('storekeeper'), from Latin apotheca ('storehouse'), from Greek apothēkē ('storehouse'), from apo- ('away') + tithenai ('to put').

## AI Etymology
Apothecary is from Late Latin apothecarius ('storekeeper'), from Latin apotheca ('storehouse'), from Greek apothēkē ('storehouse'), from apo- ('away') + tithenai ('to put'). Important recorded forms include apothḗkē (Ancient Greek) and tithénai (Ancient Greek). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers an archaic term for a pharmacist who prepared and sold medicines. The wider family includes related words such as bodega, boutique, and apothecium.

## Topics
- Communication
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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