Dispensary Corner 15 Jul 14
July 15, 2014
ETYMOLOGY, oh my!
Ever wondered about where the
words of your profession come
from?
The Pharmacy Daily office took
to wondering where the word
‘pharmacist’ comes from and why
the ‘ch’ in ‘chemist’ is hard.
So strap into the Knowledge Bus
for a ride to Learning Town!
According to Wikipedia, that
hallowed repository of reliability,
apparently ‘pharmacist’ comes
from the Greek term ‘pharmakos’,
the ritualistic sacrifice or exile
of a human scapegoat or victim,
which evolved into ‘pharmakeus’,
or ‘pharmakon’, a term meaning
sacrament, remedy, poison,
cosmetic, perfume or intoxicant,
and from this, ‘pharma’ was used
in the 15th to 17th centuries as
a practitioner of general medical
advice and services.
The etymology of ‘chemist’ is
apparently a debatable issue, but
it is agreed that it derives from
‘alchemy’, which comes from an
Arabic term, derived from the
Greek term ‘χημία’ which itself is
derived from the ancient Egyptian
name of Egypt, so alchemy was
the Egyptian art, according to the
Oxford English Dictionary and
Wikipedia.
For those interested, Wiki says
the term ‘journalism’ comes
from the French term ‘journal’,
which in turn comes from the
Latin ‘diurnal’, or ‘daily’ and the
first newspaper, the Acta Diurna
(‘Daily Acts’), was put up in the
Roman Forum daily.
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