pla·ce·bo

(plə-sē′bō)

n. pl. pla·ce·bos or pla·ce·boes

a. A substance that has positive effects as a result of a patient's perception that it is beneficial rather than as a result of a causative ingredient.

b. An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug.

2. Something of no intrinsic remedial value that is used to appease or reassure another.

3. (plä-chā′bō) Roman Catholic Church The service or office of vespers for the dead.

[Latin placēbō, I shall please, first person sing. future tense of Latin placēre, to please; see plāk- in Indo-European roots. Sense 3, from Late Latin placēbō, I shall please, the first word of the first antiphon of the vespers service (taken from a phrase in the following psalm, placēbō Dominō in regiōne vīvōrum, "I shall please the Lord in the land of the living").]

Word History: Like the word dirge, placebo has its origin in the Office of the Dead, the cycle of prayers traditionally sung or recited for the repose of the souls of the dead. The traditional liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church is Latin, and in Latin, the first word of the first antiphon of the vespers service is placēbō, "I shall please." This word is taken from a phrase in the psalm text that is recited after the antiphon, placēbō Dominō in regiōne vīvōrum, "I shall please the Lord in the land of the living." The vespers service of the Office of the Dead came to be called placebo in Middle English, and the expression sing placebo came to mean "to flatter, be obsequious." Chaucer, for example, uses the phrase on two occasions. In the Summoner's Tale, a friar offers the following piece of advice: Beth war, therfor, with lordes how ye pleye. / Singeth placebo and 'I shal if I kan,' "Be wary, therefore, how you deal with lords. / Sing 'Placebo' and 'I shall if I can.'" Placebo eventually came to mean "flatterer" and "sycophant." In the 1700s, placebo began to be used of prescriptions written by a physician solely to please a patient, as by satisfying the patient's desire to take medicine. In many cases, the patient would actually benefit, thanks to what became known as the placebo effect. Later, placebo came to refer to neutral substances used in controlled studies testing the effectiveness of medications.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

placebo

(pləˈsiːbəʊ)

n, pl -bos or -boes

1. (Medicine) med an inactive substance or other sham form of therapy administered to a patient usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug or treatment, but sometimes for the psychological benefit to the patient through his believing he is receiving treatment. See also control group, placebo effect

2. something said or done to please or humour another

3. (Roman Catholic Church) RC Church a traditional name for the vespers of the office for the dead

[C13 (in the ecclesiastical sense): from Latin Placebo Domino I shall please the Lord (from the opening of the office for the dead); C19 (in the medical sense)]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pla•ce•bo

(pləˈsi boʊ for 1; plɑˈtʃeɪ boʊ for 2)

n., pl. -bos, -boes.

a. a substance having no pharmacological effect but given to placate a patient who supposes it to be a medicine.

b. a pharmacologically inactive substance or a sham procedure administered as a control in testing the efficacy of a drug or course of action.

2. the vespers for the office of the dead.

[1175–1225; Middle English < Latin placēbō I shall be pleasing, acceptable]

pla·ce·bo

(plə-sē′bō)

A substance resembling a drug but containing only inactive ingredients, used especially in scientific experiments to test the effectiveness of a drug. Researchers give one group of people a real drug and another group a placebo and then determine whether the people taking the drug get better results than the people taking the placebo.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	placebo - an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug active placebo - a placebo used in experimental tests of a drug that has noticeable side effects; "an active placebo mimics the side effects of the experimental drug" medicament, medication, medicinal drug, medicine - (medicine) something that treats or prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease
	2.	placebo - (Roman Catholic Church) vespers of the office for the dead vesper - a late afternoon or evening worship service Church of Rome, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Church, Western Church, Roman Catholic - the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy

Translations

lumelääkeplasebo

placebo

[pləˈsiːbəʊ]

A. N (placebos or placeboes (pl)) → placebo m

B. CPD placebo effect N → efecto m placebo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

placebo

[pləˈsiːbəʊ] n → placebo mplacebo effect n → effet m placeboplace card n → marque-place mplace mat n → set m de table

placebo

n (Med) → Placebo nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

placebo

[pləˈsiːbəʊ] n → placebo m inv

pla·ce·bo

n. placebo, sustancia anodina sin valor medicinal gen. usada en experimentos comparativos;

___ controlled trial → prueba de control ___.

placebo

n (pl -bos o -boes) placebo