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Doctor definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DOCTOR, n. [L., to teach.]
1. A teacher.
There stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law. Acts 5.
2. One who has passed all the degrees of a faculty, and is empowered to practice and teach it, as a doctor in divinity, in physic, in law; or according to modern usage, ad person who has received the highest degree in a faculty. The degree of doctor is conferred by universities and colleges, as an honorary mark of literary distinction. It is also conferred on physicians, as a professional degree.
3. A learned man; a man skilled in a profession; a man of erudition.
4. A physician; one whose occupation is to cure diseases.
5. The title, doctor, is given to certain fathers of the church whose opinions are received as authorities, and in the Greek church, it is given to a particular officer who interprets the scriptures.
Doctors Commons, the college of civilians in London.
DOCTOR, v.t. To apply medicines for the cure of diseases. [A popular use of this word, but not elegant.]
DOCTOR, v.i. To practice physic. [Not elegant.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a licensed medical practitioner; "I felt so bad I went to see my doctor" [syn: doctor, doc, physician, MD, Dr., medico]
2: (Roman Catholic Church) a title conferred on 33 saints who distinguished themselves through the orthodoxy of their theological teaching; "the Doctors of the Church greatly influenced Christian thought down to the late Middle Ages" [syn: Doctor of the Church, Doctor]
3: children take the roles of physician or patient or nurse and pretend they are at the physician's office; "the children explored each other's bodies by playing the game of doctor"
4: a person who holds Ph.D. degree (or the equivalent) from an academic institution; "she is a doctor of philosophy in physics" [syn: doctor, Dr.] v
1: alter and make impure, as with the intention to deceive; "Sophisticate rose water with geraniol" [syn: sophisticate, doctor, doctor up]
2: give medical treatment to
3: restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please" [syn: repair, mend, fix, bushel, doctor, furbish up, restore, touch on] [ant: break, bust]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English doctour teacher, doctor, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin doctor, from Latin, teacher, from doc?re to teach — more at docile Date: 14th century 1. a. an eminent theologian declared a sound expounder of doctrine by the Roman Catholic Church — called also doctor of the church b. a learned or authoritative teacher c. a person who has earned one of the highest academic degrees (as a PhD) conferred by a university d. a person awarded an honorary doctorate (as an LLD or Litt D) by a college or university 2. a. a person skilled or specializing in healing arts; especially one (as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian) who holds an advanced degree and is licensed to practice b. medicine man 3. a. material added (as to food) to produce a desired effect b. a blade (as of metal) for spreading a coating or scraping a surface 4. a person who restores, repairs, or fine-tunes things • doctoral adjective • doctorless adjective • doctorship noun II. verb (doctored; doctoring) Date: 1712 transitive verb 1. a. to give medical treatment to b. to restore to good condition ; repair <doctor an old clock> 2. a. to adapt or modify for a desired end by alteration or special treatment <doctored the play to suit the audience> <the drink was doctored> b. to alter deceptively <accused of doctoring the election returns> <a doctored photo> intransitive verb 1. to practice medicine 2. dialect to take medicine

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician. b US a qualified dentist or veterinary surgeon. 2 a person who holds a doctorate (Doctor of Civil Law). 3 colloq. a person who carries out repairs. 4 archaic a teacher or learned man. 5 sl. a cook on board a ship or in a camp. 6 (in full doctor-blade) Printing a blade for removing surplus ink etc. 7 an artificial fishing-fly. --v. colloq. 1 a tr. treat medically. b intr. (esp. as doctoring n.) practise as a physician. 2 tr. castrate or spay. 3 tr. patch up (machinery etc.); mend. 4 tr. adulterate. 5 tr. tamper with, falsify. 6 tr. confer a degree of doctor on. Phrases and idioms: Doctor of the Church any of several early Christian Fathers of the Church. Doctor of Philosophy a doctorate in any faculty except law, medicine, or sometimes theology. go for the doctor Austral. sl. 1 make an all-out effort. 2 bet all one has. what the doctor ordered colloq. something beneficial or desirable. Derivatives: doctorhood n. doctorial adj. doctorly adj. doctorship n. Etymology: ME f. OF doctour f. L doctor f. docere doct- teach

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Doctor Doc"tor, n. [OF. doctur, L. doctor, teacher, fr. docere to teach. See Docile.] 1. A teacher; one skilled in a profession, or branch of knowledge learned man. [Obs.] One of the doctors of Italy, Nicholas Macciavel. -- Bacon. 2. An academical title, originally meaning a men so well versed in his department as to be qualified to teach it. Hence: One who has taken the highest degree conferred by a university or college, or has received a diploma of the highest degree; as, a doctor of divinity, of law, of medicine, of music, or of philosophy. Such diplomas may confer an honorary title only. 3. One duly licensed to practice medicine; a member of the medical profession; a physician. By medicine life may be prolonged, yet death Will seize the doctor too. -- Shak. 4. Any mechanical contrivance intended to remedy a difficulty or serve some purpose in an exigency; as, the doctor of a calico-printing machine, which is a knife to remove superfluous coloring matter; the doctor, or auxiliary engine, called also donkey engine. 5. (Zo["o]l.) The friar skate. [Prov. Eng.] Doctors' Commons. See under Commons. Doctor's stuff, physic, medicine. --G. Eliot. Doctor fish (Zo["o]l.), any fish of the genus Acanthurus; the surgeon fish; -- so called from a sharp lancetlike spine on each side of the tail. Also called barber fish. See Surgeon fish.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Doctor Doc"tor, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Doctored; p. pr. & vb. n. Doctoring.] 1. To treat as a physician does; to apply remedies to; to repair; as, to doctor a sick man or a broken cart. [Colloq.] 2. To confer a doctorate upon; to make a doctor. 3. To tamper with and arrange for one's own purposes; to falsify; to adulterate; as, to doctor election returns; to doctor whisky. [Slang]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Doctor Doc"tor, v. i. To practice physic. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Friar Fri"ar, n. [OR. frere, F. fr[`e]re brother, friar, fr. L. frater brother. See Brother.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) A brother or member of any religious order, but especially of one of the four mendicant orders, viz: (a) Minors, Gray Friars, or Franciscans. (b) Augustines. (c) Dominicans or Black Friars. (d) White Friars or Carmelites. See these names in the Vocabulary. 2. (Print.) A white or pale patch on a printed page. 3. (Zo["o]l.) An American fish; the silversides. Friar bird (Zo["o]l.), an Australian bird (Tropidorhynchus corniculatus), having the head destitute of feathers; -- called also coldong, leatherhead, pimlico; poor soldier, and four-o'clock. The name is also applied to several other species of the same genus. Friar's balsam (Med.), a stimulating application for wounds and ulcers, being an alcoholic solution of benzoin, styrax, tolu balsam, and aloes; compound tincture of benzoin. --Brande & C. Friar's cap (Bot.), the monkshood. Friar's cowl (Bot.), an arumlike plant (Arisarum vulgare) with a spathe or involucral leaf resembling a cowl. Friar's lantern, the ignis fatuus or Will-o'-the-wisp. --Milton. Friar skate (Zo["o]l.), the European white or sharpnosed skate (Raia alba); -- called also Burton skate, border ray, scad, and doctor.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(doctors, doctoring, doctored) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A doctor is someone who is qualified in medicine and treats people who are ill. Do not discontinue the treatment without consulting your doctor... Doctor Paige will be here right after lunch to see her. N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC 2. A dentist or veterinarian can also be called doctor. (AM) N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC 3. The doctor's is used to refer to the surgery or office where a doctor works. I have an appointment at the doctors. N-COUNT: usu sing, the N 4. A doctor is someone who has been awarded the highest academic or honorary degree by a university. He is a doctor of philosophy. N-COUNT; N-TITLE 5. If someone doctors something, they change it in order to deceive people. They doctored the prints to make her look as awful as possible. VERB: V n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Luke 2:46; 5:17; Acts 5:34), a teacher. The Jewish doctors taught and disputed in synagogues, or wherever they could find an audience. Their disciples were allowed to propose to them questions. They assumed the office without any appointment to it. The doctors of the law were principally of the sect of the Pharisees. Schools were established after the destruction of Jerusalem at Babylon and Tiberias, in which academical degrees were conferred on those who passed a certain examination. Those of the school of Tiberias were called by the title "rabbi," and those of Babylon by that of "master."

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dok'-ter: (In Lu 2:46 didaskalos) "doctor" is equivalent to "teacher," which latter is the translation of the Revised Version (British and American). So in Lu 5:17; Ac 5:34, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "doctors," "doctor," of the law (nomodidaskalos). See EDUCATION; RABBI; SCRIBES.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Instructor, teacher. 2. Adept, savant, learned man. 3. Physician, medical practitioner.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Milk and water, with a little rum, and some nutmeg; also the name of a composition used by distillers, to make spirits appear stronger than they really are, or, in their phrase, better proof.

Foolish Dictionary

One who lays you up. (See DOCK)

Moby Thesaurus

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