I. ˈdäk-tər noun
Etymology: Middle English doctour teacher, doctor, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin doctor, from Latin, teacher, from docēre to teach — more at docile
Date: 14th century
1.
a. : an eminent theologian declared a sound expounder of doctrine by the Roman Catholic Church — called also doctor of the church
b. : a learned or authoritative teacher
c. : a person who has earned one of the highest academic degrees (as a PhD) conferred by a university
d. : a person awarded an honorary doctorate (as an LLD or Litt D) by a college or university
2.
a. : a person skilled or specializing in healing arts ; especially : one (as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian) who holds an advanced degree and is licensed to practice
b. : medicine man
3.
a. : material added (as to food) to produce a desired effect
b. : a blade (as of metal) for spreading a coating or scraping a surface
4. : a person who restores, repairs, or fine-tunes things
• doc·tor·al -t(ə-)rəl adjective
• doc·tor·less -tər-ləs adjective
• doc·tor·ship -ˌship noun
II. verb
( doc·tored ; doc·tor·ing -t(ə-)riŋ)
Date: 1712
transitive verb
1.
a. : to give medical treatment to
b. : to restore to good condition : repair
doctor an old clock
2.
a. : to adapt or modify for a desired end by alteration or special treatment
doctor ed the play to suit the audience
the drink was doctor ed
b. : to alter deceptively
accused of doctor ing the election returns
a doctor ed photo
intransitive verb
1. : to practice medicine
2. dialect : to take medicine