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A system of therapy developed by Samuel Hahnemann based on the “law of similia,” from the aphorism, similia similibus curantur (likes are cured by likes), which holds that a medicinal substance that can evoke certain symptoms in healthy individuals may be effective in the treatment of illnesses having similar symptoms, if given in very small doses [homeo- + G. pathos, suffering]
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ho·me·op·a·thy or Brit ho·moe·op·a·thy .hō-mē-'äp-ə-thē, .häm-ē- n, pl -thies a system of medical practice that treats a disease esp. by the administration of minute doses of a remedy that would in healthy persons produce symptoms similar to those of the disease compare ALLOPATHY (1)
ho·meo·path·ic or Brit ho·moeo·path·ic .hō-mē-ə-'path-ik adj
ho·meo·path·i·cal·ly or Brit ho·moeo·path·i·cal·ly -i-k(ə-)lē adv
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n.
a complementary therapy based on the theory that 'like cures like'. It involves treating a condition with a tiny dose of a substance that in larger doses would normally cause or aggravate that condition. The dose is made smaller by diluting it many times in purified water; it is activated by shaking in an exact way. Homeopathy was developed by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), in 1796.
• homeopathic adj.
• homeopathist n.
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ho·me·op·a·thy (ho″me-opґə-the) [homeo- + -pathy] a system of therapeutics founded by Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843), in which diseases are treated by drugs which are capable of producing in healthy persons symptoms like those of the disease to be treated, the drug being administered in minute doses. Cf. allopathy. homeopathic adjMedical dictionary. 2011.