What Does The "Rx" Sign Mean?

November 17, 2005 B. John 155 Views

Once again, we can blame Latin for a curious term. In English, "Rx" doesn’t seem to have any connection to "pharmacy." However it does in Latin, albeit in a roundabout way.

According to Yahoo! Reference, "Rx" means "prescription for medicine." The letters abbreviate the Latin word recipe, which is a form of the verb "to take."

Doctors write Rx in the heading of prescriptions as an instruction to "take" the medicine. The pharmacists filling the orders understand this shorthand (and hopefully they can read the doctors’ handwriting) and print it on pill bottles with whatever else doctors order, such as "take twice daily with food." Somewhere along the line, pharmacists started using "Rx" on their storefront signs so patients knew where to get their doctors’ instructions translated.

B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.