physic
Syllables: phys·ic/ˈfɪz.ɪk/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
New Zealand/ˈfəz.ək/
physic adjective: relating to or concerning existent materials; physical.
Adjective
physic (comparative more physic, superlative most physic)
- Relating to or concerning existent materials; physical.
Noun
physic (countable and uncountable, plural physics)
- A medicine or drug, especially a cathartic or purgative.
- Harke yee Lords, you ſee I haue giuen her Phiſicke, / And you muſt needs beſtovv her Funerall, […]c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas...
- I ſhould not thinke it ſtrange, for 'tis a phyſicke / That's bitter, to ſweet end.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- The art or profession of healing disease; medicine.
- ...and thus draw out all the unwholesome Air and Stench, which does more harm than any Physick can repair.1743, Stephen Hales, A Description of Ventilators, page xiii
- Natural philosophy; physics.
- When I left Mr. Bates, I went down to my Father; where, by the Aſſiſtance of him and my Uncle John, and ſome other Relations, I got forty Pounds, and a Promiſe of thirty Pounds a year to maintain me at Leyden: there I ſtudied Phyſick two years and ſeven months, knowing it would be uſeful in long...1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s...
- A physician.
- Desire is death, which physic did except.1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 147”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC
Verb
physic (third-person singular simple present physics, present participle physicking, simple past and past participle physicked)
- To cure or heal.
- Wouldſt thou not haue ſome Bulchin from the herd / To phyſicke thee of this venereall itch?1637, Tho[mas] Heywood, “Ivpiter and Io”, in Pleasant Dialogues and Dramma’s, Selected out of Lucian, Erasmus, Textor, Ovid, &c. […], London: […] R. O[ulton] for R. H[earne], and are to be sold by...
- To administer medicine to, especially a purgative.
- I will physic your rankness […]c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- When she had been a little girl - a very little girl - her mother had once cried at Anne in utter exasperation, "You're so contrary cheese'd physic ya!"1987, Stephen King, The Tommyknockers
physic meaning in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada
physic in Tamil
- மருத்துவப் பண்டுவவியல்
physic in Malayalam
- വൈദ്യശാസ്ത്രം, ചികിത്സ, വയറിളക്കുന്ന മരുന്ന്, പ്രകൃതിതത്ത്വശാസ്ത്രം, വൈദ്യം
physic in Kannada
- ಮದ್ದು, ಔಷಧ, ಅರಗುಮದ್ದು, ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ, ರೋಗ ವಾಸಿಮಾಡುವ ವಿಧಾನ
Examples of physic in a sentence
- Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief.1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 34”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by...
- Learn before thou speak, and use physick or ever thou be sick.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Sirach 18:19:
Forms of physic
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more physic |
| superlative | most physic |
| alternative form | phisicke |
| alternative form | physick |
| Noun | |
| plural | physics |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | physics |
| present participle | physicking |
| past participle | physicked |
| past | physicked |
Origin of physic
From Middle English phisik, from Latin physicus, from Ancient Greek φῠσῐκός (phŭsĭkós, “natural; physical”), from φύσις (phúsis, “origin, birth; nature, quality; form, shape; type, kind”), from φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō, “grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).
From Middle English fysike (noun) and phisiken, fisike (verb; from the noun), from Old French fisike (“natural science, art of healing”), from Latin physica (“study of nature”), from Ancient Greek φυσική (phusikḗ), feminine singular of φῠσῐκός (phŭsĭkós, “natural; physical”), see above.
Words formed from physic
Phrases with physic
Words that rhyme with physic
Questions about physic
- What does physic mean?
- Physic means relating to or concerning existent materials; physical.
- What is physic in Tamil?
- Physic in Tamil is மருத்துவப் பண்டுவவியல். See Physic meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use physic in a sentence?
- Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief.
- What part of speech is physic?
- Physic can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce physic?
- Physic is pronounced /ˈfɪz.ɪk/ (UK).
Words near physic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: physic (page history and authors); physic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); physic (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); physic (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-physic.wav.
Cite this entry: “physic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/physic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.