prescription

[ pri-skrip-shuhn ]

noun

1. Medicine/Medical.
   1. a direction, usually written, by the physician to the pharmacist for the preparation and use of a medicine or remedy.
   2. the medicine prescribed:

      Take this prescription three times a day.

2. an act of prescribing.
3. that which is prescribed.
4. Law.
   1. Also called positive prescription. a long or immemorial use of some right with respect to a thing so as to give a right to continue such use.
   2. Also called positive prescription. the process of acquiring rights by uninterrupted assertion of the right over a long period of time.
   3. Also called negative prescription. the loss of rights to legal remedy due to the limitation of time within which an action can be taken.

adjective

1. (of drugs) sold only upon medical prescription; ethical. Compare over-the-counter ( def 2 ).

prescription

/ prɪˈskrɪpʃən /

noun

1. 1. written instructions from a physician, dentist, etc, to a pharmacist stating the form, dosage strength, etc, of a drug to be issued to a specific patient
   2. the drug or remedy prescribed
2. modifier (of drugs) available legally only with a doctor's prescription
3. 1. written instructions from an optician specifying the lenses needed to correct defects of vision
   2. ( as modifier )

      prescription glasses

4. the act of prescribing
5. something that is prescribed
6. a long established custom or a claim based on one
7. law
   1. the uninterrupted possession of property over a stated period of time, after which a right or title is acquired ( positive prescription )
   2. the barring of adverse claims to property, etc, after a specified period of time has elapsed, allowing the possessor to acquire title ( negative prescription )
   3. the right or title acquired in either of these ways

Word History and Origins

Origin of prescription¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin praescrīptiōn- (stem of praescrīptiō ) legal possession (of property), law, order, literally, a writing before, hence, a heading on a document. See prescript, -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of prescription¹

C14: from legal Latin praescriptiō an order, prescription; see prescribe

Example Sentences

And the researchers stress their study, published in Annals of Neurology, used carefully controlled prescription medication.

From BBC

But when stress is coming from politics, that prescription pits the health of the individual against the health of the nation.

From Los Angeles Times

He was arrested April 16 on more than 40 charges including identity fraud, forgery and “procuring or attempting to procure” prescription drugs.

From Los Angeles Times

She worries that her employer will question the prescriptions she writes for medication abortion pills and said pharmacists often refuse to give the medication to her patients.

From Salon

Meanwhile, 3.1% of the population reported misusing prescription pain relievers like opioids or fentanyl in the past year in the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

From Salon

Related Words

• drug
• instruction
• recipe
• remedy