(a) A medicine, medicament; a medicinal potion or plaster; medicinal formula [quot.: (a1393)]; medicinal property of an herb, etc.; also, a cosmetic potion [quot.: Mandev.(2)]; beren (haven) ~, to be medicinal, yield or contain a medicinal substance; binding medicines [see binden 16.]; breking medicines [see breken 17a. (b)]; comfortatif ~ [see comfortatif 2. (b)]; corrosif ~ [see corrosif 2. (a), (b)]; compouned ~ [see compouned ppl. 2. (d)]; drinking ~ [see drinken 1b.]; dulling ~ [see dullen 3. (b)]; hot ~ [see hot adj. 5. (h)]; (b) blistering (brenning, bresting, cold, drauing, driing, egre, glading, laxatif, light, local, localial, maturatif, medled, mollifiing, mundificatif, repercussif, roting, sharp, simple, slepinge, special, stiptik, stopping, strong) ~, q.v.; ~ caustik (cirurgical, comfortatif, corrosif, digestif, evacuatif, extirpatif, gnauing, laxatif, liptomer, oppilatif, putrefactif, repercussif, resolutif, restoratif, restrictif, resumptif, ruptif, scarotik, stupefactif) [see caustik, etc.]

Alch. A transmuting agent.

(a) Medical treatment; a cure, remedy; healing, relief from pain; also, hygiene; salutary regimen of diet, exercise, etc.; safeguard of health, defense against illness or injury; also, nurture of bees or a tree, care and feeding of sheep; (b) ben ~, to be hygienic, be salutary; bi help of..~, by medical (vs. natural) means; bi maner of ~, hygienically, for health's sake; don ~, apply a medicament (to a person's eyes, one's body, etc.); heal or treat (sb.), give medical aid (to sb.); also, undergo medicinal treatment; of a substance: don ~ to, cure (the sick); haven ~, be cured; maken ~, resort to medical treatment; ~ of, treatment indicated for (sb. or sth.); medlen with ~, receiven (taken) ~, undergo medical treatment, get medical attention.

Fig. (a) A moral, psychological, or social remedy; solution to a problem; deterrent of a natural inclination; safeguard, defense against siege; ~ of almes, favor towards a suitor; ~ extreme, capital punishment; ~ of lif, a friend; (b) a spiritual remedy; divine grace, means of grace; redemption, salvation; escape from God's wrath; a deterrent to sin, safeguard against sinning; also, mediation [quot.: c1325]; (c) covenable ~, a fitting penance; ~ of goddes laue (holi writ, wordes), sacred lore, spiritual instruction; ~ to knouen, guidance for discerning (falsehood) [quot.: a1500(c1380)]; ~ of sorwe (teres), contrition; to ~, for the sake of (someone's) salvation; turnen to ~, to direct (oneself) towards virtuous living, seek salvation; in epithets for God, Christ: ~ of ech mischef, ~ of sorwinge, ~ to dolour (ech sor), mighti ~, of lif the ~, ~ of lif.

The practice, theory, or study of medicine; medical discourse or lore; ~ of god, God's healing art; medicine(s speculatif; instrument of ~; bokes of ~; maken ~, of Apollo: to invent the craft of medicine; god of ~, Aesculapius.