allopathy
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word allopathy. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word allopathy, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say allopathy in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word allopathy you have here. The definition of the word allopathy will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofallopathy, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from German Allopathie, allo- + -pathy, originally a pejorative term.[1]
Noun
allopathy (countable and uncountable, plural allopathies)
- (uncountable, originally) A system of heroic medicine that treats symptoms with substances that produce the opposite effect.
- (countable) A conventional Western medical method or treatment.
Usage notes
- Originally, this indicated solely treatment according to the "law of opposites" rather than the homeopathic "law of similars"; it is now principally used to distinguish conventional medicine from homeopathy (USA, UK, EU), especially in the literature of homeopathy.
- In the United States, the term is sometimes used to distinguish MDs from DOs (osteopathic physicians), usually in discussions of medical education.
- In India, used principally to distinguish "Western medicine" from Ayurveda, especially when comparing treatments and drugs.
Derived terms
Translations
historical: alternative medicine
traditional medical method or treatment
|
References
- ^ James C. Whorton (2004) Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 18:
- One form of verbal warfare used in retaliation by irregulars was the word “allopathy.” Coined two hundred years ago by Samuel Hahnemann […] and was intended, among other things, to indicate that regular doctors used methods that were unrelated to the disharmony produced by disease and thus were harmful to their patients.
