Demidoctor

/ˌdɛmɪˈdɒktər/ noun

Definition

A person with partial medical knowledge or incomplete training; a quasi-physician or incomplete doctor.

Etymology

From demi- (half) + doctor (a trained physician). A historical term for medical practitioners with less training than full doctors, common before modern licensing.

Kelly Says

Before modern medical licensing, this is exactly what many healers were—they'd learned enough to set bones and mix herbs but hadn't studied anatomy formally. The term captures that gray zone between charlatan and actual physician.

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