What does stomachic mean?
Stomachic is a formal term relating to the stomach, especially when describing its functions, symptoms, or treatment. As an adjective, it can qualify a medicine, remedy, complaint, or condition connected with digestion and the stomach. As a noun, a stomachic is a medicine intended to improve digestion or relieve stomach discomfort. The word is more characteristic of medical writing, older texts, and formal descriptions than of ordinary conversation. In everyday English, people usually say stomach medicine, digestive remedy, or indigestion treatment instead. Its value as a vocabulary word lies in its clear medical meaning and its connection to the Greek vocabulary from which many anatomical and digestive terms derive.
Relating to or affecting the stomach.
"Her doctor diagnosed a stomachic disorder."
Formal and chiefly medical in use.
A medicine that aids digestion or relieves stomach complaints.
"He took the stomachic before breakfast."
This noun sense is uncommon in modern everyday English.
The plural is used when referring to multiple stomach medicines or remedies; it is uncommon in modern general usage.
"The shop sells several stomachics for indigestion."
Stomachic is a formal medical word built on the same Greek root that gave us stomach and gastric.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stomachic come from?
Stomachic comes through Latin from the Greek stomachikos, meaning “of or relating to the stomach.” The underlying Greek word stomachos referred to the stomach and contributed to English stomach and related terms such as stomachal and stomachache. The adjective was also developed in medical contexts to describe substances affecting digestion or the stomach.
Related word forms
How stomachic is actually used
Stomachic is formal and relatively literary. It is less common in everyday speech than stomach-related or digestive, and the noun sense is uncommon in modern general usage.