prescribe

English

Alternative forms

• præscribe (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praescribere, from prae (“before”) and scribere (“to write”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈskɹaɪb/, /pɹəˈskɹaɪb/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (distinguished from proscribe) IPA^(key): /ˌpɹiːˈskɹaɪb/
• Rhymes: -aɪb
• Homophone: proscribe (in some dialects)

Verb

prescribe (third-person singular simple present prescribes, present participle prescribing, simple past and past participle prescribed)

1. (medicine) To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority).

   The doctor prescribed aspirin.

2. To specify by writing as a required procedure or ritual; to lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action.

   The property meets the criteria prescribed by the regulations.

   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     Prescribe not us our duties.

   • 1665, John Dryden, The Indian Emperour

     Let streams prescribe their fountains where to run.

Related terms

• prescription
• prescriptionist
• prescriptive

• prescriptivism
• prescriptivist

Derived terms

• deprescribe
• prescriber

Antonyms

• proscribe

Translations

to order a drug or medical device

• Afrikaans: voorskryf
• Albanian: parashkruaj (sq)
• Arabic: وَصَفَ‎ (waṣafa)
• Armenian: նշանակել (hy) (nšanakel)
• Basque: errezetatu
• Bulgarian: предписвам (bg) (predpisvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 開藥 (zh), 开药 (zh) (kāiyào), 處方 (zh), 处方 (zh) (chǔfāng)

• Czech: předepisovat impf, ordinovat impf
• Dutch: voorschrijven (nl)
• Finnish: kirjoittaa resepti, määrätä (fi)
• French: prescrire (fr), indiquer (fr), ordonner (fr)
• German: verschreiben (de), verordnen (de)
• Hungarian: felír (hu)
• Ido: preskriptar (io)
• Indonesian: meresepkan (id)
• Italian: prescrivere (it), ordinare (it)

• Japanese: 処方する (ja) (しょほうする, shohō suru)
• Maori: tūtohi, tūtohu
• Ngazidja Comorian: hwekeza
• Persian: نسخه نوشتن‎ (nosxe neveštan), نسخه پیچیدن‎ (fa) (nosxe pičidan)
• Polish: przepisywać (pl) impf, ordynować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: prescrever (pt), receitar (pt)
• Romanian: prescrie (ro), ordona (ro)
• Russian: пропи́сывать (ru) impf (propísyvatʹ), назнача́ть (ru) impf (naznačátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прописи́вати impf

  Roman: propisívati (sh) impf

• Slovak: predpisovať impf, ordinovať impf
• Spanish: prescribir (es), recetar (es)
• Swedish: ordinera (sv), förskriva
• Turkish: reçete yazmak
• Ukrainian: признача́ти impf (pryznačáty)

to specify as a required procedure or ritual

• Albanian: porosis, urdhëroj (sq)
• Arabic: أَمَرَ‎ (ar) (ʾamara)
• Bengali: আদেশ করা (adeś kôra)
• Bulgarian: давам предписание (davam predpisanie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 規定 (zh), 规定 (zh) (guīdìng)

• Czech: předepisovat impf, nařizovat impf
• Dutch: voorschrijven (nl)
• Finnish: säätää (fi), määrätä (fi)
• French: prescrire (fr), ordonner (fr)
• German: vorschreiben (de), verordnen (de)
• Hungarian: előír (hu)
• Indonesian: mempreskripsikan, memerintahkan (id)
• Italian: prescrivere (it), ordinare (it)

• Japanese: 規定する (ja) (きていする, kitei suru)
• Old English: sċrīfan
• Persian: تجویز کردن‎ (fa) (tajviz kardan)
• Polish: zarządzać (pl) impf, nakazywać (pl) impf, dyktować (pl) impf, ustanawiać (pl) impf, ordynować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: prescrever (pt), ordenar (pt)
• Romanian: prescrie (ro), ordona (ro)
• Russian: предпи́сывать (ru) impf (predpísyvatʹ), устана́вливать (ru) impf (ustanávlivatʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прописи́вати impf

  Roman: propisívati (sh) impf

• Slovak: predpisovať impf, nariaďovať impf
• Spanish: prescribir (es), ordenar (es)
• Swedish: skriva ut (sv)
• Ukrainian: припи́сувати impf (prypýsuvaty)

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Spanish

Verb

prescribe

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of prescribir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of prescribir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of prescribir.