Meanings
alternative Rx · alternative r. · alternative ℟
- CanadaPhilippinesUSpharmacymedicineA prescription.
- pharmacymedicineTake (used to begin a list of ingredients of a compound).
1 more example
BOlvs in Engliſh is called a morſell. It is a medicine laxatiue, in forme & faſhion it is meanely whole, & it is ſwallowed by litle gobbets. […] ℞. medulla caſiæ fiſtulæ newly drawen. ℥. j. or ʒ. x. the graines (that is the kernelles) of barbaries. ℈. ß. and with ſugar roſet [sugar compounded with rose petals] make a bole.
1583, Philip Barrough [i.e., Philip Barrow], “Of Making Bolus”, in The Methode of Phisicke, Conteyning the Causes, Signes, and Cures of Inward Diseases in Mans Body from the Head to the Foote. […], London: […] Thomas Vautroullier […], →OCLC, book VI, page 288 - Marks the congregation's response to the versicle.
- astrologyRetrograde.
Synonyms & antonyms
symbolMarks the congregation's response to the versicle.
Origin
- Latinrecipe“take this”
- English℞
An R with a cross-stroke indicating an abbreviation (of recipe, response, retrograde etc). In the case of a prescription, abbreviating Latin recipe (“take this”, second-person singular imperative of recipiō); it is sometimes typeset as, or even interpreted as, a digraph Rx. Compare also Dx (“diagnose, diagnosis”) and Hx (“history”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
℞. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%E2%84%9E
“℞.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%E2%84%9E. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “℞,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%E2%84%9E.
Source: ℞ on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.