Definition of: prescription

(pri·skrip′shən) noun
1. The act of prescribing, directing, or dictating.
2. That which is prescribed or appointed, as a rule or precept; a prescript.
3. Med. a A physician's formula for compounding and administering a medicine. b The remedy so prescribed. c A formula issued by a licensed oculist or optometrist giving directions for the grinding of eyeglass lenses.
4. Law A title to property, or a mode of acquiring title to property, founded on uninterrupted possession; a mode of losing a right or title by failure to assert it within a given time; the period after which a neglected right or title cannot be asserted; also, the period, if any, after which prosecution for a crime is barred.
5. Old or continued custom, particularly when considered authoritative.
6. A claim based on long usage. [<L praescriptio, -onis]