OFFICINAL


Meaning of OFFICINAL in English

— officinally , adv.

/euh fis"euh nl/ , adj.

1. kept in stock by apothecaries, as a drug. Cf. magistral (def. 1).

2. recognized by a pharmacopoeia.

n.

3. an officinal medicine.

[ 1710-20; officinalis of a store or workshop, equiv. to L officin ( a ) workshop, presumably contr. of opificina ( opific-, s. of opifex artisan, equiv. to opi-, comb. form akin to opus work + -fic-, comb. form of facere to make, DO 1 + -ina -INE 1 ; cf. OFFICE) + -alis -AL 1 ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .