m-e-d-i-c-i-n-e
MEDICINE The science and art of healing; substances used to treat disease; the practice of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness. Worth 13 base points in word games.
13
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
Medicine stands as humanity's eternal battle against suffering, disease, and death. From ancient shamans brewing herbal remedies to modern scientists engineering targeted therapies, medicine represents our species' refusal to accept illness as inevitable. This dual meaning—both the practice of healing and the substances that heal—captures the comprehensive nature of healthcare's mission to restore and maintain human well-being.
The evolution of medicine mirrors human civilization itself. Ancient Egyptian papyri describe surgical procedures from 3000 BCE; Hippocrates established ethical principles still sworn today; Islamic Golden Age physicians like Ibn Sina advanced pharmacology; the Renaissance brought anatomical understanding through dissection. Each era's breakthroughs—germ theory, anesthesia, antibiotics, vaccines, organ transplants, gene therapy—exponentially expanded our ability to combat disease and extend life.
Modern medicine encompasses vast specialties: internal medicine tackles systemic diseases; surgery repairs through intervention; psychiatry heals the mind; pediatrics protects the young; geriatrics supports the aging. Emergency medicine saves lives in critical moments while preventive medicine stops disease before it starts. The pharmacological arsenal includes thousands of compounds, from simple aspirin to complex biologics, each precisely targeting specific pathways in the dance between health and disease.
For word game enthusiasts, MEDICINE exemplifies the perfect 8-letter bingo opportunity. Using all tiles triggers the 50-point bonus, potentially scoring 60+ points before multipliers. The word's common letters ensure reasonable drawing probability, while its familiar spelling reduces challenge risks. Strategic players appreciate MEDICINE's flexibility—it builds from MED, MEDIC, or ICE already on the board, and extends to MEDICINES for future plays.
MEDICINE derives from Latin "medicina," meaning "the healing art," from "medicus" (physician) and ultimately "mederi" (to heal or cure). The Indo-European root "*med-" means "to measure, consider, advise," reflecting medicine's thoughtful, measured approach to healing. The word entered Middle English via Old French "medecine" in the 13th century, initially meaning both the practice and the remedy. Related terms span languages: Italian "medicina," Spanish "medicina," German "Medizin," all preserving the Latin root that connects healing with careful consideration and measurement.
•MEDICINE as an 8-letter bingo word often scores 60+ points with the 50-point bonus
•The average doctor learns 55,000 medical terms during training—a vocabulary larger than many languages
•Penicillin, discovered by accident in 1928, has saved an estimated 200 million lives worldwide
"The best medicine for the human spirit has always been a combination of science and compassion."
"Traditional medicine from willow bark gave us aspirin, still one of the world's most used drugs."
Other valuable 8-letter words from healthcare and science:
Total base points: 13 (Scrabble)
Vowels: 4 (E, I, I, E) | Consonants: 4 (M, D, C, N)
Practice unscrambling letters to find more high-scoring words like MEDICINE