# prescription

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/ · frequency rank #7,169

## Definitions
1. A written order from an authorized medical practitioner for provision of a medicine or other treatment, such as (ophthalmology) the specific lenses needed for a pair of glasses.
2. The medicine or treatment provided by such an order.
3. Any plan of treatment or handling; the treatment or handling thus provided.
4. Synonym of enactment, the act of establishing a law, regulation, etc., particularly in writing; an instance of this.
5. The act of establishing or formalizing ideal norms for language use, as opposed to describing the actual norms of such use; an instance of this.
6. An established time period within which a right must be exercised and after which it is null and permanently unenforceable.
7. An established time period after which a person who has uninterruptedly, peacefully, and publicly used another's property acquires full ownership of it.
8. Synonym of self-restraint, limiting of one's actions especially according to a moral code or social conventions.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French prescripcion, from Latin praescriptio (“preface; pretext; something written ahead of time”), from prae- (“pre-, before”) + scribere (“to write”) + -tio (“-tion, forming nouns”). Equivalent to prescribe + -tion.

## Easily confused with
- **prescriptive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prescription-vs-prescriptive)

## Common misspellings (20)
`perscription`, `pprescription`, `precsription`, `presccription`, `prescirption`, `prescripiton`, `prescripption`, `prescripsion`, `prescriptino`, `prescriptionn`, `prescriptoin`, `prescripttion`, `prescritpion`, `prescrpition`, `prescrription`, `presrciption`, `presscription`, `prrescription`, `prsecription`, `rpescription`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/prescription