Homeo

Part of speech: prefix, adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a principle of treating diseases by administering substances that produce symptoms similar to the condition being treated ; connected to a method of healing based on the concept of similarity in symptoms and cures ; associated with a holistic approach to medicine that uses minute doses to stimulate the body's defense mechanisms
2. Pertaining to an alternative medical practice that employs highly diluted substances aiming to trigger the body's natural healing responses ; describing a system of therapy focused on symptom resemblance between remedy and illness ; linked to a doctrine of healing where like treats like and doses are carefully minimized
3. Concerning a therapeutic technique that uses remedies mimicking the patient's symptoms in very low concentrations ; tied to a method emphasizing symptom likeness and dilution in treatment ; concerning a form of medicine that provokes the body's self-regulation to overcome illness by similarity-based remedies

Etymology: Homeo- is a combining form from Greek "homoios," meaning "similar" or "like," and it is the prefix behind homeopathy, the system Samuel Hahnemann developed in Germany in the 1790s. Hahnemann rested his method on the principle of "like cures like," the idea that a substance producing symptoms resembling a disease could, in very small doses, treat that disease. He tested this idea on himself and others, reportedly after noticing that cinchona bark caused fever-like symptoms similar to malaria. The prefix itself is a neat example of how a single letter can change a word's meaning. Greek "homoios" is close in form to "homos," meaning "same," and English has borrowed the pair in words like homogeneous and homonym, which contrast with the similar-but-not-identical sense found in homeo-. Scientists in the 19th century used the prefix to coin related terms such as homeomorphic and homeostasis, all drawing on the same Greek root.

Synonyms: same, similar

Antonyms: hetero, different