doctor

I. noun Etymology: Middle English doctour teacher, doctor, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin doctor, from Latin, teacher, from docēre to teach — more at docile Date: 14th century 1. a. an eminent theologian declared a sound expounder of doctrine by the Roman Catholic Church — called also doctor of the church b. a learned or authoritative teacher c. a person who has earned one of the highest academic degrees (as a PhD) conferred by a university d. a person awarded an honorary doctorate (as an LLD or Litt D) by a college or university 2. a. a person skilled or specializing in healing arts; especially one (as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian) who holds an advanced degree and is licensed to practice b. medicine man 3. a. material added (as to food) to produce a desired effect b. a blade (as of metal) for spreading a coating or scraping a surface 4. a person who restores, repairs, or fine-tunes things • doctoral adjective • doctorless adjective • doctorship noun II. verb (doctored; doctoring) Date: 1712 transitive verb 1. a. to give medical treatment to b. to restore to good condition ; repair <

doctor an old clock

> 2. a. to adapt or modify for a desired end by alteration or special treatment <

doctored the play to suit the audience

> <

the drink was doctored

> b. to alter deceptively <

accused of doctoring the election returns

> <

a doctored photo

> intransitive verb 1. to practice medicine 2. dialect to take medicine