Doctor

Doctor (Latin a teacher), a university degree, originally an alternative title to that of master [Degrees], and said to have been first conferred in the faculty of laws at Bologna in the twelfth century. It was conferred in Paris about 1150, and in the first half of the next century in England. The absence of the degree in the faculty of arts in England, and its comparative rarity in those of law and divinity, have tended to make the term a popular synonym for "medical man." Many of these, of course, have strictly no claim to the title. In Germany and some American universities the degree of "Doctor of Philosophy" (Ph.D.) exists for graduates in arts (literature or science). London University grants the degrees of Doctor of Science and Doctor of Literature; and Cambridge has recently introduced a Doctorate of Science and one of Letters, which are reserved for men of very high eminence. Ph.D. is not usually taken in Germany save by those who take up learning as a profession.