I. ˈdäktə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English doctour, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French doctour, docteur, from Medieval Latin doctor, from Latin, teacher, from doctus (past participle of docēre to teach) + -or — more at docile
1.
a. : a religious scholar who is eminent in theological learning and personal holiness and usually an expounder and defender of established doctrine
Christ disputed with the doctors
St. Jerome was one of the great doctors of the church
b. archaic : a person competent by reason of skill and knowledge to teach or expound authoritatively a subject or field of knowledge ; broadly : a person who teaches or expounds something — used with of
c. : a person who has earned one of the highest academic degrees (as a PhD) conferred by a university usually by spending several years in advanced study of a specialized field, by writing an acceptable dissertation, and by passing numerous rigorous examinations
d. : a person awarded an honorary doctorate (as an LLD or LittD) by a college or university
2. : one skilled or specializing in healing arts:
a. : a practitioner of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine
b. : a person who has completed a course of study in one of these fields and been duly licensed to practice his profession
c. : physician — distinguished from surgeon
d. : a medicine man in a primitive culture ; broadly : any practitioner (as a rainmaker or shaman) of mysterious or magic arts in such a culture
3. archaic slang : a loaded die
4. : a recurrent cool breeze ; especially : a tropical sea breeze
5. : material added to produce a desired effect:
a. : something added to food or drink to improve its apparent quality (as acid to certain candies)
b. : doctor solution
6. : a mechanical contrivance or attachment for remedying a difficulty especially when makeshift and used in an emergency: as
a. or doctor blade : a blade (as of metal, wood, or plastic) for spreading a coating (as of glue on layers of material being laminated) or for scraping a surface (as for removing ink from the nonprinting part of an intaglio printing surface or lint from a textile printing roll)
b. : a small engine for providing water for a boiler system : donkey engine
c. : a tool used for electroplating surfaces that cannot conveniently be placed in a bath
d. : a soldering tool
e. : a knife for scraping up and incorporating rubber dough in a mixing machine
7.
a. slang : a ship or camp cook
b. : a person who puts things in or restores things to order: as
(1) : a repairer of broken or disordered items, especially of mechanical apparatus or systems — used often with a qualifying attributive
a first-rate loom doctor
(2) : play doctor
c. : a person in charge (as of a situation) : one responsible for decisions to be made — used chiefly in the phrase you're the doctor
8. : any of several brightly colored artificial flies used by anglers
II. verb
( doctored ; doctored ; doctoring -t(ə)riŋ ; doctors )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to confer a doctorate upon : make (someone) a doctor
b. : to address or refer to as “Doctor”
a false humility that made him doctor all his associates
2.
a. : to treat (a patient or ailment) as a physician : apply remedies to
faithfully doctored her old mother
doctored his boil
b. : to restore to good condition : mend , repair
he tinkered with the old clock until he finally doctored its strike
3.
a. : to adapt or modify for a desired end by alteration or special treatment
doctored the play by tightening its whole structure and abridging the last act
b. : to conceal the real state or actual quality of by deceptive alteration (as with chemicals)
doctoring poor wine to get a better price
hoping to doctor the election returns
— often used with up
you'll have to doctor up your plans if you hope to fool anybody
intransitive verb
1. : to practice medicine
my grandfather doctored in the backwoods country for over 50 years
2. dialect : to take medicine or medical treatment
doctoring for the asthma
she doctored with my nephew all that winter
III. transitive verb
: castrate : spay
have your pet cat doctored