English
medicamentous
Medicamentous comes from French médicamenteux ‘medicinal’, from Latin medeor ‘heal, cure’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-1‘to measure, give advice, heal’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*medos1‘measure’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedeor2‘heal, cure’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedicus3‘medical’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedicō4as medicārī‘to heal, medicate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedicamentum5‘drug, remedy, medicine’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmédicament6‘drug, medication, medicine, pharmaceutical, prescription’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmédicamenteux7‘medicinal’
- Englishtodaymedicamentous7
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin medeor, which cites LIV
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin medicus
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin medico
- 4 Wiktionary, Latin medicamentum
- 5 Wiktionary, French médicament
- 6 Wiktionary, French médicamenteux
- 7 Wiktionary, English medicamentous
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-Wiktionary, Latin medeor, which cites LIV‘to measure, give advice, heal’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*medosWiktionary, Latin medeor, which cites LIV‘measure’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedeorWiktionary, Latin medicus‘heal, cure’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedicusWiktionary, Latin medico‘medical’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedicōWiktionary, Latin medicamentumas medicārī‘to heal, medicate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedicamentumWiktionary, French médicament‘drug, remedy, medicine’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmédicamentWiktionary, French médicamenteux‘drug, medication, medicine, pharmaceutical, prescription’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmédicamenteuxWiktionary, English medicamentous‘medicinal’
- EnglishtodaymedicamentousWiktionary, English medicamentous
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure, give advice, heal’
must, model, modern, mode, mood, mud, module, mold, meditation, blackmail, modal, modus, modulate, mote, mete, modifiable, moulder, 30 more
through Proto-Italic *medos ‘measure’
commodity, modification, mould, modulation, molding, modulus, modicum, modulo, 13 more
through Latin medeor ‘heal, cure’
through Latin medicus ‘medical’
Today it means
adj Having the properties of medicament; medicinal.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “medicamentous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin medeor, Latin medicus, Latin medico, Latin medicamentum, French médicament, French médicamenteux. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *med- / medicamentous