Doctor

Doctor means teacher in Latin. It has been used continuously as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread to the Americas, former European colonies, and is now prevalent in most of the world. As a prefix – “Dr” – its primary designation is a person who has obtained a doctorate — that is, an advanced university degree whose completion involves extensive research.

Other usages

::See also the corresponding disambiguation page.

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• In Roman Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church is an eminent theologian (e.g. Thomas Aquinas) from whose teachings the whole Christian Church is held to have derived great advantage. This is not an academic title but reflects the most ancient sense of the word as "teacher".
• "Doctor" is an undressing game played by children.
• A Doctor blade is a knife blade pressed to a moving surface to smoothen the surface or remove an unwanted substance from the surface. Doctor blades are often used in industrial processes.
• Doctors is a UK daytime soap opera.
• The Doctor is the name of the main character in the British TV series Doctor Who.