Apothecary

[Dr. Goodword]

• apothecary •

Pronunciation: ê-pah-thê-ke-ri • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: Pharmacist, druggist, someone who prepares and sells medicines.

Notes: This word has recently been replaced in America by pharmacist and druggist, but It was prevalent in Colonial America. It may be used as an adjective, as in 'apothecary shop'. Don't forget to change the final Y to I before the plural ending -s: apothecaries.

In Play: The British now call them chemists as we Americans call them druggists: "Lloyd Coxwell, the Nottingham apothecary, concocted an elixir for whatever afflicted his customers." Whatever they are called today, a hundred years ago they were apothecaries: "Coxwell, the local apothecary, was also the town butcher, and many of the townsfolk suspected him of mixing his occupations."

Word History: English copped this word from Latin apothecarius "storekeeper", from apotheca "storehouse", which Latin nicked from Greek apotheke "barn, storehouse", literally a place where things are put away. The Greek word was put together from apo "away" + theke "receptacle". Sanskrit turned apo into apa "away from", Latin, into ab "(away) from", German into ab "(down) from, off", English, into of and off. Theke is what Greek turned PIE dhe-/dho- "to set, put" into. We see its remnants in Sanskrit dadhati "places", Greek tithemi "to set, put, place", Latin facere "to do, make", Russian det' "to place, put" and delo "deed, business", Lithuanian deti "to place, lay", Latvian dēt "to lay (eggs), English do, and German tun "to do". (Now for yet another gracious nod to grandmaster of suggestions William Hupy for a delightful trip into the history of a fascinating Good Word.)

[DerekB]

My own experience is that "the British" are increasing calling these businesses "pharmacies" and many, if not most, label themselves thus.
There is a distinction between businesses that employ qualified pharmacists and are permitted to dispense medical prescriptions and those whose main business is the sale of "beauty" products and patent or "over the counter" medications. The second category has no clear nomenclature as it encompasses businesses what were originally pharmacies but have moved to a different market niche. It gets yet more complicated when some of the big supermarket chains include a pharmacy as a (semi-)integrated part of the range of products and services.

[Dr. Goodword]

I read somewhere that the US term druggist disgusts most well-spoken British. I don't like it either, so I use pharmacist, too.

[DerekB]

I have seldom, if ever, heard "druggist" used. I suspect that the obvious association with "recreational/illegal drug user" may reduce the likelihood of it being used in polite society.

[David Myer]

I can confirm that they are nearly always Pharmacies in Australia too, although some older fashioned people (including I) still refer to them as chemists. Drug stores or druggists, never.