*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ℞

An R with a cross-stroke indicating an abbreviation (of recipe, response, retrograde etc). In the case of a prescription, abbreviating Latin recipe (“take this”, second-person singular imperative of recipiō); it is somet

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
symbol

A prescription. · Take (used to begin a list of ingredients of a compound). · Marks the congregation's response to the versicle. · Retrograde.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

An R with a cross-stroke indicating an abbreviation (of recipe, response, retrograde etc). In the case of a prescription, abbreviating Latin recipe (“take this”, second-person singular imperative of recipiō); it is sometimes typeset as, or even interpreted as, a digraph Rx. Compare also Dx (“diagnose, diagnosis”) and Hx (“history”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionrecipela · take this
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "recipe",
        "t": "take this",
        "pos": "second-person singular imperative of <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"la\">recipiō</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin recipe (“take this”, second-person singular imperative of recipiō)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "recipe",
      "recipe#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "recipiō",
      "recipio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Rx",
      "Rx"
    ],
    [
      "Dx",
      "Dx#English"
    ],
    [
      "diagnose",
      "diagnose"
    ],
    [
      "diagnosis",
      "diagnosis"
    ],
    [
      "Hx",
      "Hx#English"
    ],
    [
      "history",
      "history"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "symbol",
      "glosses": [
        "A prescription.",
        "Take (used to begin a list of ingredients of a compound).",
        "Marks the congregation's response to the versicle.",
        "Retrograde."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "Philippines",
        "US"
      ],
      "recordId": "c785a4a7d0cc592cedc92c32e6d030636ee38866ecc7ba21c989c0aeaa21fd39",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7473c55f64ba9b0af99d662ebec459f834291165628a1ca40f387840031a3abc",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2432672
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ℞ →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-4oSe