Therapeutic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌθɛɹ.əˈpjuː.tɪk/

Definitions

1. Concerning methods or practices that support recovery and enhance overall health, healing both physical conditions and emotional states
2. Pertaining to approaches that aid in the treatment of ailments and foster better mental and physical health outcomes
3. Having to do with processes or activities that foster recovery and healing Involving approaches that enhance mental or physical health and well-being Relating to practices that aim to alleviate suffering and promote restoration of health

Etymology: Ancient Greek physicians and attendants shared a single verb, "therapeuein," meaning to wait on someone, to serve, or to cure. A "therapeutes" was someone who attended another person, and the adjective "therapeutikos" described what was attentive, helpful, or curative. The shift from servant to healer happened within the same word family, because looking after a sick person and healing them were, in practice, the same act. Early modern scholars borrowed the Greek adjective into Latin as "therapeuticus," and English took it from that Latin form. The English adjective appeared in Middle English in the form "terapeucia" for the noun-like sense of the healing art, and the modern adjective followed later. The word's core idea of attentive service has never disappeared, and it still underlies the medical sense of treatment.

Synonyms: healing, curative, remedial, restorative, salutary

Antonyms: harmful, injurious, detrimental