alexipharmic

The story

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἀλεξιφάρμακος
2. Late Latin · derived fromalexipharmacus
3. French · borrowed fromalexipharmaque
4. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂lek-“to protect”
5. Ancient Greek · derived fromἀλεξῐφᾰ́ρμᾰκον“antidote; (generally) remedy; charm, spell”
6. Latin · derived fromalexipharmacon“antidote”
7. Middle French · borrowed fromalexipharmaque
8. English todayalexipharmic

A variant of alexipharmac + -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Alexipharmac is borrowed from the following: * As a noun, from Middle French alexipharmaque (modern French alexipharmaque (archaic)), and from its etymon Latin alexipharmacon (“antidote”) (whence Late Latin alexipharmacum), from Ancient Greek ἀλεξῐφᾰ́ρμᾰκον (alexĭphắrmăkon, “antidote; (generally) remedy; charm, spell”), a noun use of the neuter of ἀλεξῐφᾰ́ρμᾰκος (alexĭphắrmăkos, “acting as an antidote”), from ἀλέξειν (aléxein) (the active infinitive of ἀλέξω (aléxō, “to defend, guard, protect; to help; to keep off, turn aside, ward off”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂lek- (“to protect”)) + φάρμᾰκον (phármăkon, “drug, whether healing or poisonous; charm, potion, spell; colour, dye”) + -ος (-os, suffix forming certain types of adjectives). * As an adjective, from French alexipharmaque (archaic), and from its etymon Late Latin alexipharmacus, from Ancient Greek ἀλεξιφάρμακος (alexiphármakos) (see above).

Words from the same roots