# apothecary's Latin

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/apothecarys-latin
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

barbarous Latin; badly-spoken Latin.

## Examples

- The old doctor wrote his notes in apothecary's Latin.
- The student struggled to read the ancient medical text because it was written in poor apothecary's Latin.
- Scholars often dismiss the messy, ungrammatical scribbles found in medieval medical journals as nothing more than apothecary's Latin.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.