The difference between doctor and physician

I heard the newsreader on the BBC this morning, who was reporting on the Queen's admission to hospital, say 'the Queen's physician'. In Britain we don't generally use the word physician - we say doctor. However, physician is used in formal and historical contexts - for instance, there is the Royal College of Physicians, and the term Physician to the Queen is a historical, formal title. Another term for the latter is Head of the Medical Household. The position is currently occupied by Professor John Cunningham.

 

Physician is an older word in English, according to the OED. Its first reported usage was in the early 13th century, when it was spelled with an F (or sometimes a V). It comes ultimately from the Latin word for remedy, or medical or natural science.

 

Doctor was first used in the 14th century to mean medical practitioner. Before that it meant teacher or instructor. Indeed, it comes from the Latin docere, to teach. Even now, doctor has a wider application than medical contexts, referring to learned people with higher degrees in any subject.

Comments

[Picky]

I suppose we normally mean 'general practitioner' when we say 'doctor' and I believe GPs still receive training as surgeons as well as physicians. But it's strange that when we go to see our GP it is usually for physic (we'd expect to be sent somewhere else if we needed to be cut open) but the place where the GP works is called ... a surgery.

[Virtual Linguist]

Very good point, Picky. I hadn't thought of that. I've just looked it up in the OED and see surgery has only been used in the sense 'office' since the mid-19th century.

[john]

To Picky's point, "surgery" as an office, is not found in American usage; I don't know about Canada.

I first encountered it in the British West Indies and later in England, but never in the US.

Interesting post Susan.

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks, John. I often write English material for American-English textbooks and exams and I now know not to write doctor's or dentist's surgery - my American editor always changes it to 'office'.

By the way, MPs also have 'surgeries' in the UK, which are meetings when their constituents can go and air their concerns.

[john]

That's interesting re: MP's, Susan. I'm in Barbados on holiday as I write this. I must remember to ask some of my friends whether they have similar usage here; I don't recall it, but they probably mirror England in that respect also.

[Picky]

The politicians' surgeries are events rather than places, of course (they may hold them in constituency offices, village halls etc). But then I think doctors can have events called 'surgeries', too. You can imagine the GP saying to a partner "Can you do morning surgery for me today?".

[Virtual Linguist]

True, Picky. Good point.

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Thank you, John. I often write English material, the test and now I know American English textbooks don't write a doctor or dentist surgery - always change it my American editor, "the office".