Category:Apothecary

A*poth"e*ca*ry, n.; pl. Apothecaries. Etym: [OE. apotecarie, fr. LL. apothecarius, fr. L. apotheca storehouse, Gr. apo, fr. apothicaire, OF. apotecaire. See Thesis.]

Defn: One who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes.

Note: In England an apothecary is one of a privileged class of practitioners -- a kind of sub-physician. The surgeon apothecary is the ordinary family medical attendant. One who sells drugs and makes up prescriptions is now commonly called in England a druggist or a pharmaceutical chemist. Apothecaries' weight, the system of weights by which medical prescriptions were formerly compounded. The pound and ounce are the same as in Troy weight; they differ only in the manner of subdivision. The ounce is divided into 8 drams, 24 scruples, 480 grains. See Troy weight.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Apothecary - Rendered in the margin and the Revised Version "perfumer," in Exodus 30:25; Exodus 37:29; Ecclesiastes 10:1. The holy oils and ointments were prepared by priests properly qualified for this office. The feminine plural form of the Hebrew word is rendered "confectioneries" in 1 Samuel 8:13.