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Webster's New World College Dictionary » doctoral
doctoral
Variant of doctor
doctor
definition
doc·tor (däk′tər)
noun
- Archaic a teacher or learned man
- a person who holds a doctorate
- a physician or surgeon (MD)
- a person licensed to practice any of the healing arts, as an osteopath, dentist, veterinarian, etc.
- a title used in addressing any person who holds a doctorate
- a witch doctor or medicine man
- a makeshift device, apparatus, etc., for emergency use
- a bright-colored artificial fly used in fishing
Etymology: ME doctour, teacher, learned man < OFr or < L doctor, teacher < pp. of docere, to teach: see decent
transitive verb
- to try to heal; apply medicine to
- to repair; mend
- to make suitable or improve by altering in a certain way
- to tamper with or change in order to deceive to doctor accounts
intransitive verb
- Informal to practice medicine
- ☆ Dialectal to undergo medical treatment, take medicine, etc.
Related Forms:
- doctoral doc′·toral (-əl) adjective
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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