pharmacognosy

noun

phar·​ma·​cog·​no·​sy ˌfär-mə-ˈkäg-nə-sē 

: a branch of pharmacology dealing with medicinal substances of biological origin and especially medicinal substances obtained from plants

pharmacognostic

ˌfär-mə-ˌkäg-ˈnä-stik 

adjective

or pharmacognostical

ˌfär-mə-ˌkäg-ˈnä-sti-kəl 

Examples of pharmacognosy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That field is sometimes called pharmacognosy, meaning the study and treatment of disease through medicinal practices. —Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Greek pharmakon + -gnōsia knowledge, from gnōsis — more at gnosis

First Known Use

circa 1885, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pharmacognosy

• cosy
• cozy
• josie
• nosey
• nosy
• rosy

Medical Definition

pharmacognosy

noun

phar·​ma·​cog·​no·​sy ˌfär-mə-ˈkäg-nə-sē 

plural pharmacognosies

: a branch of pharmacology dealing especially with the composition, use, and development of medicinal substances of biological origin and especially medicinal substances obtained from plants

pharmacognostic

-ˌkäg-ˈnäs-tik 

adjective

or pharmacognostical

-ti-kəl