doctor

Meanings

Noun

• A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick or injured. 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, in the US or MBBS in the UK.
• 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.
• A veterinarian; a medical practitioner who treats non-human animals.
• a person who has special knowledge or talents to manipulate or arrange transactions.
• A teacher; one skilled in a profession or a branch of knowledge; a learned man.
• Any mechanical contrivance intended to remedy a difficulty or serve some purpose in an exigency.
• A fish, the friar skate.
• A ship's cook.

Verb

• To act as a medical doctor to.
• To act as a medical doctor.
• To make (someone) into an (academic) doctor; to confer a doctorate upon.
• To physically alter (medically or surgically) a living being in order to change growth or behavior.
• To genetically alter an extant species.
• To alter or make obscure, as with the intention to deceive, especially a document.
• To adulterate, drug or poison (drink).
• To take medicine.

Related

Similar words

• vet, veterinarian, veterinary, veterinary surgeon

Origin

• From Middle English ("an expert, authority on a subject"), doctour, from Anglo-Norman doctour, from Latin doctor ("teacher"), from doceō. Displaced native Middle English lerare ("doctor, teacher") (from Middle English leren ("to teach, instruct") from Old English læran ("to teach, instruct, guide"), compare Old English lārēow ("teacher, master")). Displaced Old English lǣċe ("doctor, physician").