Remedy and Medicine Come From the Same Healing
A remedy cures or corrects. The Latin root is healing, which also gives medicine, medical and meditate.
A remedy is a treatment or a means of correcting something. The Latin *remedium* comes from *mederi*, to heal, which also produced *medicine*, *medical* and — through a sense of measuring or attending to — *meditate*. English law kept the word: a *remedy* is what a court can award, and *no remedy* means the right cannot be enforced.
- A cure. *A herbal remedy.*
- A means of correction. *A remedy for the problem.*
- A legal redress. *An equitable remedy.*
- To put right. *Remedy the defect.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | remedy | A simple remedy. |
| Plural | remedies | Home remedies. |
| Verb | remedy | Remedy the fault. |
| Adjective | remedial | Remedial work. |
| Related | medicine | Modern medicine. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A remedy is what a court can award.Law.
- Remedial work fixes a defect.Building.
- No right without a remedy.A legal maxim.
Legal remedies
- Damages — money compensating for loss
- Injunction — an order to do or stop doing something
- Specific performance — an order to carry out a contract
- Rescission — setting a contract aside
- Declaration — a court statement of the legal position
From Latin *remedium*, a cure, from *re-* and *mederi*, to heal — the root of *medicine* and *medical*.
Are remedy and meditate related?
Yes, at a distance. Both descend from a root meaning to measure or attend to, which gave healing in one branch and reflecting in another.
What is a legal remedy?
What a court can award to a successful claimant, such as damages, an injunction or an order to perform a contract.