allopathy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

allo- + -pathy – term coined by Samuel Hahnemann (the founder of homeopathy) as a pejorative term to indicate medicine that in his opinion treated something "other than" the disharmony that caused the disease. James C. Whorton – Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America

Noun

allopathy (countable and uncountable, plural allopathies)

  1. (uncountable) (historical) a system of alternative medicine that treats symptoms with substances that produce the opposite effect
  2. (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

Anagrams

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.