- apothecary
- mid-14c., "shopkeeper," from O.Fr. apotecaire (13c.), from L.L. apothecarius "storekeeper," from L. apotheca "storehouse," from Gk. apotheke "storehouse," lit. "a place where things are put away," from apo- "away" (see apo-) + tithenai "to put," from PIE base *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious). Cognate compounds produced Skt. apadha- "concealment," O.Pers. apadana- "palace." Drugs and herbs being among the chief items of non-perishable goods, the meaning narrowed 17c. to "druggist" (Apothecaries' Company of London separated from the Grocers' in 1617). Same root produced Fr. boutique and Sp. bodega. Apothecaries formerly were notorious for "the assumed gravity and affectation of knowledge generally put on by the gentlemen of this profession, who are commonly as superficial in their learning as they are pedantic in their language" [Francis Grose, "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796]. Hence, Apothecary's Latin, barbarously mangled, also known as Dog Latin.