apothecary's Latin

noun

barbarous Latin; badly-spoken Latin.

Meanings

nounapothecary's Latin (uncountable)
  1. idiomaticobsoleteuncountablebarbarous Latin; badly-spoken Latin.

    As this bit of apothecary's Latin was quoted to the town-clerk at a corporation dinner, and was by him translated to the mayor to mean that the municipal body had not a leg to stand upon, it gave very serious offence indeed.

    1842, Colburn's New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, page 333

    Synonyms: law Latin, dog Latin, bog Latin

Synonyms & antonyms

nounbarbarous Latin; badly-spoken Latin.

Also see
Cite this entry
APA

apothecary's Latin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apothecary's%20Latin

MLA

“apothecary's Latin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apothecary's%20Latin. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “apothecary's Latin,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apothecary's%20Latin.

Source: apothecary's Latin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.