Homeopathy
/ˌhoʊ.miˈɒp.ə.θi/noun
A system of alternative medicine based on treating illness with highly diluted substances believed to produce similar symptoms in healthy people.
Did you know?Samuel Hahnemann introduced the term around 1807, drawing on the Greek-derived principle similia similibus curentur—“like cures like.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
hómoios
“Like, similar, or resembling”
Ancient Greek
Greek
páthos
“Suffering, experience, or affliction”
Ancient Greek
Greek
homoiópathēs
“Suffering from something similar; like-affected”
1807
German
Homöopathie
“A medical system based on treating similar symptoms with similar substances; term associated with Samuel Hahnemann”
19th Century
English
homeopathy
“The system or practice of homeopathic treatment”
Modern English
English
homeopathy
“Alternative medicine involving highly diluted preparations intended to treat illness”