Basic Details
Word: Physician
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A doctor, especially one who treats illness with medicines rather than by operating.
Synonyms: doctor, medical practitioner
Word origin: From Old French fisicien, from Latin physica, the study of nature.
How to Spell Physician
Syllables: phy - si - cian
Tricky part: It begins with phy (ph and y), and the end is cian, the same ending as musician and magician.
Watch out for: physican, physitian, phisician
Memory tip: Physic is an old word for medicine. A physician knows physic, just as a musician knows music: physic + ian.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The family physician advised Grandma to walk for twenty minutes every morning.
Example 2: Charaka was a famous physician of ancient India.
Example 3: Our village has only one physician, so his clinic is always crowded.
Fun Fact
Hippocrates, a Greek physician born around 460 BC, is often called the father of medicine, and the oath some doctors take is named after him.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
ph_sic_an
a) y, i
b) i, i
c) y, e
d) i, a
Show answer
a) y, i. Physic, like physics, has a y after ph, and the ending cian keeps its i.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. magicion 2. pharmasist 3. musitian 4. physician
a) a doctor who treats illness with medicines
b) a person trained to prepare and sell medicines
c) a person who performs magic tricks
d) a person who plays or writes music
Show answer
a) a doctor who treats illness with medicines. Pharmacist has a c, and musician and magician both end in cian, so physician is the only one written correctly.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The snicphyia listened to the old man's chest and wrote out a prescription.
a) physical
b) physician
c) physique
d) physicist
Show answer
b) physician. An n sits in the jumble, and only physician contains one.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A physician is someone who ____.
a) studies the stars
b) designs buildings
c) repairs engines
d) treats sick people
Show answer
d) treats sick people
2. Which word names a scientist who studies physics?
a) physicist
b) physician
c) physique
d) physical
Show answer
a) physicist
