Medicinal means tasting of medicine rather than food, or having healing properties. A medicinal taste, medicinal purposes, medicinal herbs.
In tasting notes it is a fault — a medicinal note in wine or gin usually means something has gone wrong, though in some Islay whiskies it is the point. The other sense is genuine: medicinal properties means it heals. For medicinal purposes is the traditional excuse for a drink. Note the distinction from medical, which is about the profession.
1adjectivemedicinalTasting of medicine rather than food.
“Some people love this smoky whisky, but I think it has a medicinal taste, like cough syrup.”
2adjectivehealingHaving healing properties.
“Grandma grew medicinal plants like mint and camomile to make teas for colds.”
medicinal is a quality of medicine.
Latin medicinalis comes from medicina, the healing art, from medicus, a doctor. Medical, remedy and meditate come from the same root about measuring and healing.
Latin
medicīnālis
English, today
medicinal
From Latin medicīnālis. by surface analysis, medicine + -al.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA