pharmacy

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English pharmacy, borrowed from Middle French pharmacie (“the art of creating drugs; a drug, especially a laxative”), from Old French farmacie, from Medieval Latin pharmacia, from Ancient Greek φαρμακεία (pharmakeía, “the use of drugs”), from φάρμακον (phármakon, “a drug, charm, enchantment”), of uncertain but likely Pre-Greek origin. Attested since late 14th century. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɑːməsi/ (General American) enPR: fär'məsē IPA(key): /ˈfɑɹməsi/ === Noun === pharmacy (countable and uncountable, plural pharmacies) (countable) A place where prescription drugs are sold or dispensed. (uncountable) The science of medicinal substances, inclusive of pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, phytochemistry, and forensics. (uncountable) The role or occupation of a pharmacist. ==== Usage notes ==== The American drugstore and British and Commonwealth chemist's are more common when referencing a small shop, especially when it is run as a general store that sells food and other goods as well as medicines. The pharmacies operated within hospitals that dispense medicine without acting as a point of sale are sometimes distinguished as dispensaries. ==== Synonyms ==== (drugstore): drugstore (US); chemist, chemist shop, chemist's, chemist's shop (UK, AU, NZ); dispensary (dated); druggist's, druggist's shop (US dated); apothecary's, apothecary's shop (UK dated); apothecary (historical or archaic) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== apothecary chemist drugstore ==== Further reading ==== “pharmacy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “pharmacy”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “pharmacy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.