Gave or took a measured amount of medicine or drug; or exposed someone to something in a measured way.
From French 'dose' or Greek 'dosis' meaning 'a giving' or 'portion,' from 'dost' meaning 'to give.' The word entered English in the 1600s when modern medicine was developing and doctors needed to measure how much medicine to give.
The word 'dose' reveals something important: with medicine, the amount matters more than the substance itself. Even water can be poison in the wrong dose, which is why Paracelsus, a famous doctor, said 'the dose makes the poison'—it's a fundamental rule of chemistry and medicine.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.