Short take: "multidrug" - WOTD from the OED

[Dan Goncharoff]

Why assume a chain? Why not keep it simple? multi + drug store = many
drug stores; multi-drug store owners = owners of many drug stores.

DanG

On 4/15/2010 2:08 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
> It gets worse. I wonder what "multi-drug store" means. Is it simply a
> "drug store" that sells a lot of different drugs? ;-) Or is it some
> multi-(drugstore) chain? OED has "drugstore" back to 1810 and certainly
> the citations form 1871 and 1889 show fluid integrated usage (corner
> drug store that sells soda water and buying hypos at "every drug
> store"). Besides, the whole piece is devoted to buying and selling
> drugstores.
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=aynnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA157
> American druggist and pharmaceutical record, Volume 26:5 (322). New
> York: March 11, 1895
> General News Notes. p. 157
>
>> Benfield Bros., the multi-drug store owners, have bought the Euclid
>> avenue pharmacy of late operated by Dreber Bros. L. Dreber in return
>> purchased Benfield's Florence Pharmacy.
>>
>

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