dose

See also: Dose, dosé, dôse, dōse, dosë, and döse
Languages (12)
English
Afrikaans • Cebuano • Central Bikol • French • Ilocano • Italian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Pali • Portuguese • Tagalog
Page categories

English

Etymology 1

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis
Proto-Hellenic *dótis
Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis)bor.
Late Latin dosis
Middle French dosebor.
English dose

    Borrowed from Middle French dose, from Late Latin dosis, from Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis, “a portion prescribed”, literally “a giving”), used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medicine, from δίδωμι (dídōmi, “to give”). Mostly displaced English drench. Doublet of doos.

    Pronunciation

    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdəʊ̯s/, /ˈdɵ̞ʊ̯s/
    • (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈdoʊ̯s/, /ˈdɔʊ̯s/
    • (California) IPA(key): /ˈdoʊ̯s/, (California Vowel Shift) [ˈdeʊ̯s], /ˈdɔʊ̯s/, (California Vowel Shift) [ˈdɛʊ̯s]
      • Audio (Southern California); [dɛɯ̟s]:(file)
    • (Australia) IPA(key): /ˈdəʉ̯s/, (some speakers) /ˈdɐʉ̯s/
    • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈdɐʉ̯s/
    • Rhymes: -əʊs
    • Hyphenation: dose

    Noun

    dose (plural doses)

    1. A measured portion of medicine taken at any one time.
      Why did he give you only a single 500 mg dose? The correct dosage of this antibiotic is one 500 mg tablet twice a day for 10 days.
    2. The quantity of an agent (not always active), substance, or radiation administered or experienced at any one time.
      • 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
        Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese […] began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. The poisoning was irreversible, and soon ended in psychosis and death. Nowadays workers are exposed to far lower doses and manganism is rare.
    3. (figurative, dated) Anything disagreeable that must be taken.
      Synonym: fill (as in have one's fill)
    4. (figurative) A good measure or lengthy experience of something.
      a healthy dose of skepticism.
      • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 197:
        “I had then, as you remember, just returned to London after a lot of Indian Ocean, Pacific, China Seas - a regular dose of the East - six years or so, and I was loafing about, hindering you fellows in your work and invading your homes, just as though I had got a heavenly mission to civilise you.”
      • 2001, Susan Stryker, Queer Pulp, page 78:
        The prospect of becoming a father is a dose of reality that threatens to bring his dream world crashing down.
      • 2025 December 9, Veronique Greenwood, “Your Bedroom Probably Isn't Dark Enough”, in Time‎[1], New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 September 2026:
        People who don't get their daily dose of light at the right time of day can end up with worse health.
    5. (dated) A venereal infection.
      • 1972, Shel Silverstein, “Don't Give A Dose to the One You Love Most”:
        Don't give a dose to the one you love most. / Give her some marmalade... give her some toast.
      • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 382:
        It would be very expensive to cure a dose here, as well as unbelievably painful.
    6. (Ireland, colloquial) A cold; a common, viral illness of the nasal passage, sometimes with fever.
      There's a dose going round.
    Derived terms
    Descendants
    • → Malay: dos
    • → Tamil: டோஸ் (ṭōs)
    Translations

    Verb

    dose (third-person singular simple present doses, present participle dosing, simple past and past participle dosed)

    1. (transitive) To administer a dose (of medicine) to.
    2. To prescribe a dose.
    3. (transitive) To surreptitiously administer a dose of an incapacitating drug (to an unwilling subject); to roofie.
      • 2016, Pamela Donovan, Drink Spiking and Predatory Drugging: A Modern History, page 71:
        The defense never conceded that their clients had administered chloral [hydrate], but Death and Campbell said initially—during their contested station house confessions—that McAlister had dosed [Jennie Bosschieter's] drink.
    4. (transitive, dated) To transmit a venereal disease to.
      • 1977, The White Buffalo, “Wild Bill Hickok”:
        Sometime back, one of your scarlet sisters dosed me proper.
    Derived terms
    Translations

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    dose (plural doses)

    1. Archaic form of doze.
      • 1839, Benjamin Abbott, Experience and Gospel Labors of the Rev. Benjamin Abbott:
        Just at the dawning of the day, I fell into a dose more like sleep than any I had during the whole night, in which I dreamed that I saw a river as clear as crystal […]

    Verb

    dose (third-person singular simple present doses, present participle dosing, simple past and past participle dosed)

    1. Archaic form of doze.
      • 1918, William Henry Hudson, Far Away And Long Ago:
        It was to me a marvellous experience; to be here, propped up with pillows in a dimly-lighted room, the night-nurse idly dosing by the fire; the sound of the everlasting wind in my ears, howling outside […]
    Derived terms

    Anagrams

    Afrikaans

    Noun

    dose

    1. plural of doos

    Cebuano

    Cebuano numbers (edit)
     ←  11 12 13  → 
        Cardinal: napúlog duhá
        Spanish cardinal: dose
        Ordinal: ikanapúlog duhá, ikapúlog duhá
        Adverbial: makanapúlog duhá
        Fractional: sikanapúlog duhá

    Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
    Proto-Italic *duō
    Latin duo
    Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥
    Proto-Italic *dekəm
    Latin decem
    Latin duodecim
    Old Spanish doze
    ▲
    Latin duodecim
    Old Spanish dodze
    Spanish docebor.
    Cebuano dose

      Borrowed from Spanish doce.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈdose/ [ˈd̪oː.s̪e]
      • Hyphenation: do‧se

      Numeral

      dóse (Badlit spelling ᜇᜓᜐᜒ)

      1. twelve

      Central Bikol

      Central Bikol numbers (edit)
      [a], [b], [c] ←  11 12 13  → [a], [b], [c]
          Cardinal: kagduwa, sampulo may duwa, dose
          Ordinal: ikadose

      Etymology

      Etymology tree
      Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
      Proto-Italic *duō
      Latin duo
      Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥
      Proto-Italic *dekəm
      Latin decem
      Latin duodecim
      Old Spanish doze
      ▲
      Latin duodecim
      Old Spanish dodze
      Spanish docebor.
      Central Bikol dose

        Borrowed from Spanish doce.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈdose/ [ˈd̪o.se]
        • Hyphenation: do‧se

        Numeral

        dóse (Basahan spelling ᜇᜓᜐᜒ)

        1. twelve
          Synonym: kagduwa

        French

        Pronunciation

        Etymology 1

        From Latin dosis, from Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis). Doublet of dot.

        Noun

        dose f (plural doses)

        1. proportion
        2. dose
        Derived terms
        Descendants

        Etymology 2

        See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

        Verb

        dose

        1. inflection of doser:
          1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
          2. second-person singular imperative

        Further reading

        Ilocano

        Alternative forms

        • doce — obsolete, Abecedario orthography

        Etymology

        Etymology tree
        Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
        Proto-Italic *duō
        Latin duo
        Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥
        Proto-Italic *dekəm
        Latin decem
        Latin duodecim
        Old Spanish doze
        ▲
        Latin duodecim
        Old Spanish dodze
        Spanish docebor.
        Ilocano dose

          Borrowed from Spanish doce.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈdose/ [ˈdo.se]
          • Hyphenation: do‧se

          Numeral

          dose (Kur-itan spelling ᜇᜓᜐᜒ)

          1. twelve
            Synonym: sangapulo ket dua

          Italian

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈdɔ.ze/
          • Rhymes: -ɔze
          • Hyphenation: dò‧se

          Noun

          dose f (plural dosi)

          1. dose
          2. quantity, amount, measure
          3. deal (great-good) (gran dose-buona dose)

          Derived terms

          Anagrams

          Norwegian Bokmål

          Etymology

          From Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis).

          Noun

          dose m (definite singular dosen, indefinite plural doser, definite plural dosene)

          1. a dose, dosage

          References

          Norwegian Nynorsk

          Etymology

          From Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis).

          Noun

          dose m (definite singular dosen, indefinite plural dosar, definite plural dosane)

          1. a dose, dosage

          References

          Pali

          Alternative forms

          Alternative scripts
          • 𑀤𑁄𑀲𑁂 (Brahmi script)
          • दोसे (Devanagari script)
          • দোসে (Bengali script)
          • දොසෙ (Sinhalese script)
          • ဒေါသေ or ၻေႃသေ (Burmese script)
          • โทเส (Thai script)
          • ᨴᩮᩤᩈᩮ (Tai Tham script)
          • ໂທເສ (Lao script)
          • ទោសេ (Khmer script)
          • 𑄘𑄮𑄥𑄬 (Chakma script)

          Noun

          dose

          1. locative singular of dosa
          2. accusative plural of dosa

          Portuguese

          Etymology 1

          Etymology tree
          Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-
          Proto-Indo-European *-tós
          Proto-Indo-European *-is
          Proto-Indo-European *-tis
          Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis
          Proto-Hellenic *dótis
          Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis)bor.
          Latin dosisder.
          Portuguese dose

            Derived from Latin dosis, borrowed from Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis).

            Pronunciation

            • Rhymes: -ɔzi

            Noun

            dose f (plural doses)

            1. dose (measured portion of medicine)
            2. (Portugal) portion (of food)
              Synonym: porção
              Uma meia dose de sardinhas assadas.
              Half a portion of grilled sardines.
            3. (informal) fix (a single dose of an addictive drug)

            Further reading

            Etymology 2

            Verb

            dose

            1. inflection of dosar:
              1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
              2. third-person singular imperative

            Further reading

            Tagalog

            Tagalog numbers (edit)
             ←  11 12 13  → 
                Cardinal: labindalawa
                Spanish cardinal: dose
                Ordinal: ikalabindalawa, panlabindalawa
                Ordinal abbreviation: ika-12, pang-12
                Adverbial: makalabindalawa
                Multiplier: labindalawang ibayo
                Distributive: tiglabindalawa, labindalawahan, labi-labindalawa
                Collective: dosena
                Restrictive: lalabindalawa
                Fractional: kalabindalawa, sangkalabindalawa, ikalabindalawa, saikalabindalawa
            Tagalog Wikipedia article on 12

            Etymology

            Etymology tree
            Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
            Proto-Italic *duō
            Latin duo
            Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥
            Proto-Italic *dekəm
            Latin decem
            Latin duodecim
            Old Spanish doze
            ▲
            Latin duodecim
            Old Spanish dodze
            Spanish docebor.
            Tagalog dose

              Borrowed from Spanish doce (“twelve”).

              Pronunciation

              • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈdose/ [ˈd̪oː.sɛ]
              • Audio:(file)
              • Rhymes: -ose
              • Syllabification: do‧se

              Numeral

              dose (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜓᜐᜒ)

              1. twelve
                Synonym: labindalawa

              Further reading

              • “dose”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
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