title: [An etymology of pharmacy in the Western languages].
abstract: An etymological and semantic history of the terms of various pharmaceutical retailers in the West in presented. Apothecary is a combination of IE * apo- (separate) and * dhē (to place) which gave rise to the Greek term apothēkē, which originally meant a warehouse for food and wine. Pharmacy is a combination of the Greek term * pharama form IE * bher- (to charm, enchant) and -(a)-ko- resulting in * pharmako- (magic, charm, cure, potion, medicine) and in Latin pharmacie. Chemist's shop is the English version of an American drugstore. Further, such terms as dispensary, officinal and drug are etymologically discussed. Different usages in England and the U.S. of terms like shop and store are summarized. [Note:"IE" with asterisk stands for the Indo-European proto-languages which are the ancestors of most Western tongues.]
authors.affiliation: Tekeda Science Foundation. Juso, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka 532-8686
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchibayashi
mesh_terms: D000077406:History of Pharmacy; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049692:History, Early Modern 1451-1600; D049711:History, Modern 1601-; D007564:Japan; D007802:Language; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D019366:Western World