# physician
## English
### Alternative forms

* phisician, phisitian, physitian (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English fisicien, from Old French fisicïen (“physician”) (modern French physicien (“physicist”)), from fisique (“art of healing”), from Latin physica (“natural science”), from Ancient Greek φυσική ἐπιστήμη (phusikḗ epistḗmē, “knowledge of nature”), from φυσικός (phusikós, “pertaining to nature”). Displaced native Middle English læche, leche, archaic English leech (“physician”). Morphologically physic +‎ -ian.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɪˈzɪʃən/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: phy‧si‧cian

### Noun

physician (plural physicians)
* A practitioner of physic, i.e. a specialist in internal medicine, especially as opposed to a surgeon; a practitioner who treats with medication rather than with surgery.
** 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter II, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:His forefathers had been, as a rule, professional men—physicians and lawyers; his grandfather died under the walls of Chapultepec Castle while twisting a tourniquet for a cursing dragoon; an uncle remained indefinitely at Malvern Hill; […].
** 2010 August 4, Leonard S. Rubenstein, JD, Stephen N. Xenakis, MD, “The Ethics of Enhanced Interrogations and Torture: A Reappraisal of the Argument”, in JAMA‎, volume 304, number 5, American Medical Association, →DOI, pages 569–570:In 2009, the Obama Administration released guidelines on enhanced interrogation written in 2003 and 2004 by the CIA Office of Medical Services. $^{(OMS).1-3(appendixF)}$ The OMS guidelines, even in redacted form, and opinions from the US Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) Office of Legal Counsel show that CIA physicians, psychologists, and other health care personnel had important roles in enhanced interrogation.
* A medical doctor trained in human medicine.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:physician
** 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:The doctor had to go to London for a physician to take charge of his practice […].

#### Usage notes

* In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, a physician holds a postgraduate degree such as Master of General Medicine or fellowship certificate such as MRCP or FRCP from the Royal College of Physicians in UK, or the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in Australia and New Zealand. Contrarily, in the United States, the term is frequently regulated by state laws, and in all states includes those with the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree (not to be confused with osteopaths), the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree, and in some states those with the D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic) degree (who are neither medical doctors nor part of allied health).

#### Derived terms

* emergency physician
* family physician
* non-physician
* physician assistant
* physician extender
* physician finger
* physician, heal thyself

#### Related terms

* physic
* physical
* physicist
* physics

#### Translations

Afrikaans: dokter (af)
Akan: dɔkota n
Albanian: mjek (sq) m, mjeke (sq) f, doktor (sq) m, doktoreshë (sq) f
Amharic: ሐኪም m (ḥäkim)
Arabic: طَبِيب (ar) m (ṭabīb), طَبِيبة f (ṭabība), دُكْتُور m (doktōr, duktōr), حَكِيم (ar) m (ḥakīm), حَكِيمَة f (ḥakīma), مُتَطبِّب m
Chadian Arabic: دكتور m (daktōr)
Egyptian Arabic: دكتور m (doktōr), حكيم m (ḥakīm)
Hijazi Arabic: دكتور m (duktōr), طبيب m (ṭabīb)
Moroccan Arabic: طبيب (ṭbīb)
North Levantine Arabic: حَكِيم (ḥakīm)
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܵܣܝܵܐ m (asya), ܕܘܼܟ݂ܛܘܼܪ n (duḳṭur) (informal)
Classical Syriac: ܐܣܝܐ m (ʾāsyā)
Jewish Aramaic: אָסְיָא m (ʾāsyā), אַסְיָא m (ʾasyā)
Armenian: բժիշկ (hy) (bžišk)
Assamese: ডাক্তৰ (daktor), বেজ (bez)
Asturian: médicu (ast) m
Azerbaijani: həkim (az), doktor (az)
Basque: sendagile (eu), osagile (eu)
Belarusian: ура́ч m or f (uráč), до́ктар m or f (dóktar), ле́кар m (ljékar)
Bengali: ডাক্তার (bn) (ḍaktar), তবীব (bn) (tobib)
Breton: doktor (br) m
Bulgarian: до́ктор (bg) m (dóktor), ле́кар (bg) m (lékar), хеки́мин (bg) m (hekímin)
Burmese: ဆရာဝန် (my) (hca.rawan)
Buryat: эмшэн (emšen)
Catalan: metge (ca) m
Cebuano: mantatambal
Central Dusun: dokutul
Chechen: лор (lor)
Cherokee: ᎦᎾᎦᏘ (ganagati)
Chichewa: dokotala, dotolo
Chinese:
Cantonese: 醫生 / 医生 (ji$^1$ sang$^1$)
Dungan: дэфу (defu), щянсын (xi͡ansɨn)
Eastern Min: 醫生 / 医生 (ĭ-sĕng)
Hakka: 醫生 / 医生 (yî-sên), 先生 (sîn-sâng)
Hokkien: 醫生 / 医生 (zh-min-nan) (i-seng), 先生 (zh-min-nan) (sian-seⁿ, sian-siⁿ)
Mandarin: 醫生 / 医生 (zh) (yīshēng), 大夫 (zh) (dàifu), 醫師 / 医师 (zh) (yīshī)
Wu: 醫生 / 医生 ($^1$i-san$_1$)
Chukchi: инэнмэлевыльын (inėnmėlevylʹyn)
Cornish: doktour m, medhek m
Czech: lékař (cs) m, lékařka (cs) f, doktor (cs) m, doktorka (cs) f
Dalmatian: dotuar m, medco m
Danish: læge (da) c, doktor c
Dutch: dokter (nl) m, arts (nl) m or f, geneesheer (nl) m (formal)
Dzongkha: དྲུང་འཚོ (drung 'tsho)
Egyptian: (zjnw)
Emilian: dutåur m
Esperanto: kuracisto (eo), virkuracisto m
Estonian: arst (et), doktor
Evenki: аичимни (ajiçimņi)
Ewe: ɖɔkta, atikewɔla
Farefare: dɔɣɔta
Faroese: lækni m
Finnish: lääkäri (fi), tohtori (fi)
French: médecin (fr) m or f, docteur (fr) m, docteure (fr) f, doctoresse (fr) f, doctoresse (fr) f
Old French: fisician m
Friulian: dotôr m, miedi m
Galician: doutor m, médico (gl) m
Georgian: ექიმი (ekimi), მედიკოსი (mediḳosi), მკურნალი (mḳurnali)
German: Arzt (de) m, Ärztin (de) f, Mediziner (de) m, Medizinerin (de) f, Doktor (de) m, Doktorin (de) f
Gothic: 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 m (lēkeis)
Greek: ιατρός (el) m or f (iatrós), γιατρός (el) m or f (giatrós)
Ancient: ἰατρός m (iatrós)
Greenlandic: nakorsaq
Hawaiian: kauka
Hebrew: רוֹפֵא (he) m (rofé), רוֹפְאָה f (rof'á), דוֹקטוֹר (he) m (dóktor) (colloquial, while addressing a doctor)
Hindi: डाक्टर (hi) m (ḍākṭar), डॉक्टर m (ḍŏkṭar), वैद्य (hi) m (vaidya), चिकित्सक (hi) m (cikitsak), हकीम (hi) m (hakīm), तबीब (hi) m (tabīb)
Hungarian: orvos (hu) m, doktor (hu) m
Icelandic: læknir (is) m
Ido: mediko (io), medikulo (io) (male), medikino (io) (female)
Indonesian: dokter (id)
Ingrian: doktori, dohteri
Interlingua: medico, doctor
Irish: lia m, dochtúir (ga) m
Italian: medico (it) m, dottore (it) m, dottore in medicina m
Japanese: 医者 (ja) (いしゃ, isha), 医師 (ja) (いし, ishi), 先生 (ja) (せんせい, sensei) (when addressing)
Kamba: ndakitali
Kazakh: дәрігер (därıger)
Khmer: ពេទ្យ (km) (pɛɛt), ហ្ម (km) (mɑɑ), ពេទ្យហ្ម (pɛɛt mɑɑ), វេជ្ជ (km) (vɨccĕəʼ)
Kikuyu: ndagĩtarĩ class 1
Korean: 의사(醫師) (ko) (uisa), 의자(醫者) (ko) (uija)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: پزشک (pzişk), دکتۆر (diktor), پزیشک (pizîşk)
Northern Kurdish: bijîşk (ku), doktor (ku), tixtor (ku), nojdar (ku)
Kyrgyz: дарыгер (ky) (darıger)
Ladino: doktor, mediko, kechim
Lao: ໝໍ (lo) (mǭ), ແພດ (phǣt)
Latin: medicus (la) m
Latvian: ārsts m, ārste f
Lithuanian: daktaras (lt) m, daktarė f, gydytojas (lt) m, gydytoja f
Lombard: dotór m
Low German:
German Low German: Dokter (nds) m, Dokterin f, Doktersch f, Doktersche f
Lü: ᦖᦸ (ṁoa)
Luhya: dakatari, dakitari
Luo: dokta
Macedonian: лекар (mk) m (lekar), лекарка f (lekarka)
Malagasy: dokotera (mg)
Malay: doktor (ms) (Malaysia, Singapore), dokter (ms) (Indonesia incl. Riau), bomor (Southern Thailand), tabib (ms) (limited)
Maltese: tabib m
Manchu: ᠣᡴᡨᠣᠰᡳ (oktosi), ᡩᠠᡳᡶᡠ (daifu)
Manx: lhee f, fer lhee m
Maori: tākuta, rata (mi)
Marathi: डॉक्टर m (ḍŏkṭar), वैद्य m (vaidya)
Maricopa: kwsede
Martuthunira: juwayumarta
Meru: ndagitare
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: эмч (mn) (emč)
Mongolian: ᠡᠮᠴᠢ (emči)
Nahuatl: ticitl
Navajo: azeeʼííłʼíní
Nepali: डाक्टर (ḍākṭar), चिकित्सक (ne) (cikitsak) (formal)
Ngarrindjeri: putari
Ngazidja Comorian: twaɓiɓu class 5/6
Norman: docteu m
Northern Mansi: ле̄ккар (lēkkar)
Norwegian:
Norwegian Bokmål: lege (no) m, doktor (no) m
Norwegian Nynorsk: lege m, lækjar m, doktor m, dokter m
Occitan: mètge (oc) m
Odia: ଡାକ୍ତର (or) (ḍāktara)
Okinawan: 医者 (いさ, isa)
Old English: lǣċe m
Oromo: hakiimii
Pali: vejja m
Pashto: ډاکټر (ps) m (ḍākṭar), دکتور (ps) m (doktor), طبيب (ps) m (tabib), حکيم (ps) m (hakim)
Persian: پِزِشْک (fa) (pezešk), دُکْتُر (fa) (doktor), طَبیب (fa) (tabib), حَکیم (fa) (hakim) (archaic)
Plautdietsch: Oatst m, Dokta m
Polish: lekarz (pl) m, lekarka (pl) f, doktor (pl) m, doktorka (pl) f, medyk (pl) m, medyczka f
Portuguese: doutor (pt) m, médico (pt) m
Punjabi: ਹਕੀਮ (pa) m (hakīm)
Quechua: jampiq
Romanian: medic (ro) m, medică f, doctor (ro) m, doctoriță (ro) f, doctoreasă (ro) f
Romansch: medi m
Russian: врач (ru) m or f (vrač) (both male and female), врачи́ха (ru) f (vračíxa) (colloquial, nonstandard), до́ктор (ru) m or f (dóktor) (both male and female), до́кторша (ru) f (dóktorša) (colloquial for female doctors, nonstandard), ле́карь (ru) m (lékarʹ), ме́дик (ru) m (médik)
Sanskrit: वैद्य (sa) m (vaidya), चिकित्सक (sa) m (cikitsaka), भिषज् (sa) m or f (bhiṣaj)
Sardinian: medicu, datori
Scottish Gaelic: lighiche m, lèigh m, dotair m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ле̑чнӣк m, лије̑чнӣк m, лѐка̄р m, љѐка̄р m, врачитељ m (Burgenland Croatian), здравник m
Roman: lȇčnīk m, lijȇčnīk (sh) m, lèkār (sh) m, ljèkār (sh) m, vračitelj m (Burgenland Croatian), zdravnik (sh) m
Sicilian: medicu (scn) m
Sinhalese: දොස්තර (dostara), වෛද්‍යවරයා (si) (waidyawarayā)
Slovak: doktor (sk) m, doktorka (sk) f, lekár (sk) m, lekárka f
Slovene: zdravnik (sl) m, zdravnica f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: gójc m, duchtaŕ m
Sotho: ngaka
Spanish: médico (es) m, facultativo (es) m
Sranan Tongo: datra
Swahili: daktari (sw) class 5/6, dokta class 9/10
Swedish: läkare (sv) c, doktor (sv) c
Tagalog: doktor (tl) c, manggagamot
Tajik: пизишк (tg) (pizišk), табиб (tabib), доктор (tg) (doktor), ҳаким (hakim)
Tamil: மருத்துவர் (ta) (maruttuvar), வைதியர் (vaitiyar)
Tangsa: tsiqshäraz
Tatar: доктор (doqtor), табиб (tt) (tabib)
Telugu: వైద్యుడు (te) (vaidyuḍu)
Thai: หมอ (th) (mɔ̌ɔ), แพทย์ (th) (pɛ̂ɛt), เวช (th) (wêet), อายุรแพทย์ (aa-yú-rá-pɛ̂ɛt)
Tibetan: ཨེམ་ཆི (em chi)
Tigrinya: ዶክተር (doktär)
Tocharian B: saṃtkīnau
Tok Pisin: dokta
Tswana: ngaka
Tumbuka: dokotala
Turkish: doktor (tr), hekim (tr), tabip (tr), (dialectal) sagan (tr)
Turkmen: lukman, hekim, wraç
Cyrillic: врач m
Ukrainian: лі́кар (uk) m (líkar), до́ктор (uk) m (dóktor), ме́дик (uk) m (médyk)
Unami: ntaktël
Urdu: ڈاکْٹَر m (ḍākṭar), حَکِیم m (hakīm), طَبِیب m (tabīb)
Uyghur: دوختۇر (doxtur), تېۋىپ (tëwip)
Uzbek: tabib (uz), shifokor (uz), doktor (uz), hakim (uz)
Venetan: medego m, miedego m, mèdego (vec) m, dotor m
Vietnamese: bác sĩ y khoa, bác sĩ (vi), đốc-tờ (vi), y sinh (vi), thầy thuốc (vi)
Volapük: sanan (vo), hisanan (male), sanel (obsolete), medinel (obsolete)
Walloon: docteur (wa) m, medcén (wa) m, méde (wa) m (old)
Welsh: meddyg (cy) m
Yakut: быраас (bıraas)
Yámana: takter
Yiddish: דאָקטער m (dokter)
Zhuang: canghyw
Zulu: (modern doctor) udokotela (zu) class 1a/2a, umelaphi class 1/2, (traditional doctor) inyanga (zu) class 9/10, ugedla class 11/10 :