Overmedicates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide a patient with an amount of medication that exceeds what is necessary for their treatment
2. To use or prescribe medication in an amount that is greater than what is deemed safe or effective
3. Gives a patient more medication than is needed for their health condition

Etymology: The verb "overmedicates" is simply the third-person singular present form of "overmedicate," so what matters is the parent word. "Medicate" entered English from Latin "medicare," meaning "to heal" or "to treat with medicine," itself built on "medicus," a physician. The Latin root goes back to "mederi," "to heal," which is the same ancestry behind words like "medicine" and "remedy." "Overmedicate" is a straightforward compound: the prefix "over-," meaning "too much" or "beyond the proper amount," joined to "medicate." Its English history is plain. The prefix descends from Old English "ofer," meaning "above" or "beyond," and it has long been used to form verbs meaning excess, such as "overeat" and "overwork." Nothing about the word's construction is unusual, but its meaning is a neat illustration of how a prefix can turn a neutral healing verb into a warning about harm.

Synonyms: excessively medicates, overprescribes