Wondrous Words Wednesday – Apothecary

Posted May 25, 2022 by elzaread in Wondrous Words Wednesday / 22 Comments

Greetings you guys! I can’t believe it’s only been two weeks since our last Wondrous Words Wednesday. It feels like ages! Perhaps it’s because my Mommy was on holiday and I missed her so much for the week they were gone. Luckily she is home safe and things are falling back into our weekly rhythm again.

As you know, Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted right here on Elza Reads and the concept is as easy as pie. All you need to do, is share any new (or new to you) words you came across this week and share them with us. You are also welcome to share words you simply want to show off to us. For more on Wondrous Words Wednesday, you can click here. There is a Mr. Linky attached at the bottom of this post if you’d like to make your own post and add your link.

Our Wondrous Word for today, is chosen for the plain and simple reason that my Mommy can’t pronounce this word to safe her life. And if she can’t pronounce a word, you bet she can’t spell it either.

As most of the followers of this blog are big readers, I’m sure you all know where I got this word form. Yes, from the international best seller The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner.

A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them – setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose – selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate – and not everyone will survive.

Now that’s a book we really want to get our hands on. But my Mommy still can’t pronounce or spell the word apothecary. Perhaps if she studies the word slightly more intensely, it might stuck.

Apothecary (/əˈpɒθɪkəri/) is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North American English) has taken over this role.

Not that we didn’t know that. Amazing enough. The Afrikaans word for a pharmacy, is “Apteek”. Deriving from the Dutch word apotheek and that brings us right back to apothecary.

Ha, and just like that, she spelled the word correctly without having to look at the dictionary. I guess my study plan worked!

I can’t think of any books that we’ve read with an apothecary in it so far. But the following three books all deal with apothecary or chemistry and we want to read all three of them.

What words did you come across this past week? If you want to join in the Wondrous Words Wednesday bi-weekly posts, just add your link to the Mr. Linky provided, or leave it in the comment section.

Wordless Wednesday

We simply love joining up with Wordless Wednesday. From new words to no words, a perfect combination. Wordless Wednesday is hosted by Sandee @ Comedy Plus and it’s even more simple than Wondrous Words Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday (WW) is a visual blogosphere phenomenon. Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo which conveys a message that speaks for itself without using words. One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do. So come and join us in Wordless Wednesday.

Not that either me or my Mommy are an apothecary in any way, but we will prescribe the best medicine ever invented – take a vacation!

We wish you all a wonderful Wednesday!

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22 responses to “Wondrous Words Wednesday – Apothecary

  1. Pretty photos! Vacation sounds better than medicine to me. I had google pronounce the word for me … and now I’m well practiced on A-Poth-e-cary . thanks!

    Susan recently posted: Gardening Days
  2. I love the word apothecary. It brings to mind gorgeous bottles and mysterious shops filled with all kinds of things!

  3. (A vacation sounds like a fabulous idea, esp. if I get to go to those places in your photos!) I love how you have linked apothecary with chemistry, it’s a great transition into the modern world, eh? And thanks for talking about the Dutch and Afrikaans links of the word!

  4. I know nothing about mixing medicine, but a vacation I can do. You nailed it for me. Water and boats. It’s perfect.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥

    Sandee recently posted: Wordless Wednesday
  5. I haven’t read the other two, but I’m reading Lessons in Chemistry right this minute and I’m loving it so much I can hardly bear to stop reading, even to blog.

    And, yes, absolutely…the best medicine is a vacation! Gorgeous photos!

    Happy Wondrous Words and Happy Wordless Wednesday, Mareli and Elza!

    Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted: Wondrous Words Wednesday: Flâneur
  6. Diane

    Can’t wait to read your “lost apothecary” thoughts. My book group meets to discuss it this afternoon. I was kind of disappointed:(

  7. I love the word apothecary, it sounds so much more interesting than chemist. I have read a couple of books with it in the title but not the one you mention. The last one was “The Apothecary’s Cat” which I read a couple of years ago.
    Those views of the sea and boats is beautiful.

    Jackie's Photo Blog. recently posted: Wordless Wednesday.