homeopathy

noun

ho·​me·​op·​a·​thy ˌhō-mē-ˈä-pə-thē  ˌhä- 

: a system of alternative medicine that treats a disease especially by the administration of minute doses of a remedy that would in larger amounts produce symptoms in healthy persons similar to those of the disease : homeopathic medicine

Examples of homeopathy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the National Institutes of Health, there may be safety considerations related to homeopathy. —Sarah Jividen, Health, 20 July 2024

Always inform your healthcare provider before starting homeopathy and avoid stopping prescribed medications without their guidance. —Sarah Jividen, Health, 20 July 2024

Charles’s interest in homeopathy and alternative medicine has followed him onto the throne. —William Booth, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2024

If homeopathy really worked, how would medicine change? —Kyle Hill, Discover Magazine, 30 May 2013

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Homöopathie, from homöo- homeo- + -pathie -pathy, after earlier homöopathisch homeopathic

Note: Introduced by Samuel Hahnemann, perhaps first in his Reine Arzneimittellehre, 3. Theil (Dresden, 1817), p. iii ff.

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

homeopathy

noun

ho·​me·​op·​a·​thy

variants or British homoeopathy

ˌhō-mē-ˈäp-ə-thē  ˌhäm-ē- 

plural homeopathies or British homoeopathies

: a system of alternative medicine that treats a disease especially by the administration of minute doses of a remedy that would in larger amounts produce symptoms in healthy persons similar to those of the disease : homeopathic medicine