Lewis Hyde, in the excellent, “The Gift” writes about the origins of the word “dose”
The French etymologist Benveniste writes: ‘There is a … medical usage in which [the Greek word] dósis denotes the act of giving, whence develops the sense of the amount of medicine given, a “dose” … This sense passed by loan translation into German, where Gift, like Gr.-Lat. dósis, was used as a substitute for venēnum, “poison.”
How fascinating that it began as a gift, and how sad that it turned into poison!
Heroes Not Zombies 
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