American
[gey-len-i-kuhl, guh-]
/ geɪˈlɛn ɪ kəl, gə- /
noun
-
an herb or other vegetable drug, distinguished from a mineral or chemical drug.
-
a crude drug, tincture, or decoction, distinguished from a preparation that has been refined.
galenical
British
/ ɡeɪˈlɛnɪkəl, ɡə- /
noun
-
any drug prepared from plant or animal tissue, esp vegetables, rather than being chemically synthesized
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged"
2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986
© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
adjective
-
denoting or belonging to this group of drugs
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged"
2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986
© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Etymology
First recorded in 1645–55; Galenic + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any
opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What need of galenical medicines, where fevers, and stomachs loaded by the loss of the digestive powers, are so few?
From
Letters from an American Farmer
by St. John de Crèvecoeur, J. Hector
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
