English Online Dictionary. What means physician? What does physician mean?
English
Alternative forms
- phisician, phisitian, physitian (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English fisicien, from Old French fisicïen (“physician”) (modern French physicien (“physicist”)), from fisique (“art of healing”), from Latin physica (“natural science”), from Ancient Greek φυσική ἐπιστήμη (phusikḗ epistḗmē, “knowledge of nature”), from φυσικός (phusikós, “pertaining to nature”). Displaced native Middle English læche, leche, archaic English leech (“physician”). Morphologically physic + -ian.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɪˈzɪʃən/
- Hyphenation: phy‧si‧cian
Noun
physician (plural physicians)
- A practitioner of physic, i.e. a specialist in internal medicine, especially as opposed to a surgeon; a practitioner who treats with medication rather than with surgery.
- A medical doctor trained in human medicine.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:physician
Usage notes
- In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, a physician holds a postgraduate degree such as Master of General Medicine or fellowship certificate such as MRCP or FRCP from the Royal College of Physicians in UK, or the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in Australia and New Zealand. Contrarily, in the United States, the term is frequently regulated by state laws, and in all states includes those with the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree (not to be confused with osteopaths), the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree, and in some states those with the D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic) degree (who are neither medical doctors nor part of allied health).