“doctors” is a form of
doctor
UK /ˈdɒktə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈdɑktɚ/ noun, verb, phrase
Forms doctors doctoring doctored the Doctor doctour
- noun A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick or injured. The final examination and qualification may award a doctor degree in which case the post-nominal letters are DO, DPM, MD, DMD, or DDS in the US, or MBBS or BDS in the UK. “If you still feel unwell tomorrow, see your doctor.”
- noun A person who has attained a doctorate, such as a Ph.D. or Th.D. or one of many other terminal degrees conferred by a college or university.
- noun A veterinarian; a medical practitioner who treats non-human animals.
- noun A nickname for a person who has special knowledge or talents to manipulate or arrange transactions.
- noun (obsolete) A teacher; one skilled in a profession or a branch of knowledge; a learned man.
- noun (dated) Any mechanical contrivance intended to remedy a difficulty or serve some purpose in an exigency.
- noun A fish, the friar skate.
- noun (obsolete) A witch doctor.
- verb (transitive) To act as a medical doctor to. “Her children doctored her back to health.”
- verb (intransitive, humorous) To act as a medical doctor.
- verb (transitive) To make (someone) into an (academic) doctor; to confer a doctorate upon.
- verb (transitive) To physically alter (medically or surgically) a living being in order to change growth or behavior. “They doctored their apple trees by vigorous pruning, and now the dwarfed trees are easier to pick.”
- verb (transitive) To genetically alter an extant species. “Mendel's discoveries showed how the evolution of a species may be doctored.”
- verb (transitive, figurative) To alter or make obscure, as with the intention to deceive, especially a document. “To doctor the signature of an instrument with intent to defraud is an example of forgery.”
- verb (transitive) To adulterate, drug, or poison (drink).
- verb (intransitive, obsolete) To take medicine.
- noun The title of an academic or medical doctor; used before or instead of the doctor's name. “The students asked to see Doctor Jones.”
- phrase A mnemonic to help remember the difference between the Spanish verbs ser and estar (both meaning "to be"); ser is generally used for: Descriptions, Occupations, Characteristics, Times, Origins, and Relationships.
Synonyms
physician doc leech physic medic medician medical doctor vet veterinarian veterinary veterinary surgeon family doctor general practitioner GP sawbones surgeon Dr Dr. MD medico Doctor of the Church sophisticate doctor up repair mend fix bushel furbish up restore touch on
Etymology
From Middle English doctor, doctour (“an expert, authority on a subject”), from Anglo-Norman doctour, from Latin doctor (“teacher”), from doceō (“to teach”). Displaced native Middle English lerare (“doctor, teacher”) (from Middle English leren (“to teach, instruct”) from Old English lǣran, lēran (“to teach, instruct, guide”), compare Old English lārēow (“teacher, master”)). Displaced Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”).
A backronym from the word doctor.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A teacher; one skilled in a profession, or branch of knowledge learned man. [Obs.]
- noun An academical title, originally meaning a men so well versed in his department as to be qualified to teach it. Hence: One who has taken the highest degree conferred by a university or college, or has received a diploma of the highest degree; as, a doctor of divinity, of law, of medicine, of music, or of philosophy. Such diplomas may confer an honorary title only.
- verb To treat as a physician does; to apply remedies to; to repair; as, to doctor a sick man or a broken cart. [Colloq.]
- verb To confer a doctorate upon; to make a doctor.
Etymology [OF. doctur, L. doctor, teacher, fr. docere to teach. See Docile.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “doctor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details