Why does RX mean perscription?

Question

What does the R and the X stand for in relation to perscription?

Answer 1

Well, yes, the R means recipe. But the X has a rather sinister beginning, at least according to the author of Devils, Drugs & Doctors, "Rx is not, as is frequently supposed, an abbreviation of a Latin word meaning recipe or compound, but is an invocation to Jupiter, a prayer for his aid to make the treatment effective...sometimes in old medical manuscripts all the R's occurring in the text were crossed." He says that's because the X is actually a crossing of the dropped leg of the R, which is a symbol for Jupiter or Horus. Read more about it here, if you care to:

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrx....

Answer 2

Some people think that Rx means prescription. In a way it does. However, Rx is the abbreviation for the Latin word meaning ‘recipe’. The abbreviations used in prescriptions are derived from Latin terms.