specificker
/spɛˈsɪfɪkə/
specificker noun: a homoeopathic practitioner who sought to ascertain the aetiologies of diseases, focusing on the symptoms most regularly associated with their diagnosis (to the exclusion of peripheral and occasional symptoms), and who, for their treatment, selected remedies (administered in more-or-less undiluted form) on the basis of their general physiological effects, ignoring incidental and side-effects. Also the comparative form of specific.
Noun (1)
specificker (plural specifickers)
- A homoeopathic practitioner who sought to ascertain the aetiologies of diseases, focusing on the symptoms most regularly associated with their diagnosis (to the exclusion of peripheral and occasional symptoms), and who, for their treatment, selected remedies (administered in more-or-less undiluted form) on the basis of their general physiological effects, ignoring incidental and side-effects.
- Those who arrogate to themselves the appellation of orthodox Hahnemannians have travelled far away, under the guidance of Gross, into the mystic regions of the 200th, 800th, and 10,000th dilutions, while the section, by the former styled specifickers, have gradually descended to the lowest numerals...1847, J.J. Drysdale, J.R. Russell, and R.E. Dudgeon (editors), The British Journal of Homœopathy V, № xxi, “Dr. G. Schmid’s Homœopathic Treatment with Undiluted Medicines”, pages 257–258, editors’...
- Those who have been derisively termed specifickers by their opponents…usually arrogate to themselves the title of pures or Hahnemannians. Some difference there must be between the specifickers and the pures…[although it] does not, I believe, consist in any want of that spirit of individualization...1852–3, Robert Ellis Dudgeon, Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Homœopathy (1854), lecture III: “On Specific Medicine, and Attempts at a Theory of Cure”, page 54
Noun (2) capitalized: Specificker
Specificker (plural Specifickers)
- Alternative letter-case form of specificker.
Also used as
specificker is also the comparative form of specific.
Examples of specificker in a sentence
- Those who have been derisively termed specifickers by their opponents…usually arrogate to themselves the title of pures or Hahnemannians.1852–3, Robert Ellis Dudgeon, Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Homœopathy (1854), lecture III: “On Specific Medicine, and Attempts at...
- The habit once formed in respect to some medicines, soon extends to the better proved medicines, and the practitioner becomes a mere specificker.1866, John James Drysdale, “On the Arrangement of the Materia Medica”, in The British Journal of Homœopathy, XXIV, № xcvi, page 239:
- M. and “we” were in our teens, even while in our squares (diaper, you know), a certain set styled themselves disciples of pure homœopathy and derided all who differed with them as “Specifickers.”1869, Carl Müller, “Peccavi! Vel Peccavi?” in the American Homœopathic Observer VI, page 270
- It is here that the mere specificker, the mere organopathist fails; while the full method of Hahnemann wins victories which are a continual source of delight.1902, Richard Hughes, The Principles and Practice of Homœopathy, 3rd edition, page 144:
Forms of specificker
| plural | specifickers |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Specificker |
| plural | Specifickers |
Origin of specificker
From specific (“specific remedy”) + -er, originally a calque of German Spezifiker, used by Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843).
Formed as specific (“explicit, definite, particular”) + -er.
Questions about specificker
- What does specificker mean?
- Specificker means a homoeopathic practitioner who sought to ascertain the aetiologies of diseases, focusing on the symptoms most regularly associated with their diagnosis (to the exclusion of peripheral and occasional symptoms), and who, for their treatment, selected remedies (administered in more-or-less undiluted form) on the basis of their general physiological effects, ignoring incidental and side-effects.
- How do you use specificker in a sentence?
- Those who have been derisively termed specifickers by their opponents…usually arrogate to themselves the title of pures or Hahnemannians.
- What part of speech is specificker?
- Specificker is a noun.
- How do you pronounce specificker?
- Specificker is pronounced /spɛˈsɪfɪkə/.
- What is the plural of specificker?
- The plural of specificker is specifickers.
Words near specificker in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: specificker (page history and authors); Specificker (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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Cite this entry: “specificker.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/specificker. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.