Analgesic

Etymology

From Greek “an-” (without) and “algos” (pain), via “analgēsia” (painlessness), which surfaced in English medical writing in the early eighteenth century. The point of the coinage is precision: it names the removal of pain specifically, as opposed to the removal of all feeling. Modern pharmacology sorts analgesics into families, but the shared job is the ancient one — to take the pain away while you stay awake.

noun · /an-uhl-JEE-zik/
A drug that relieves pain without putting you to sleep or numbing all sensation.
What it names
It gives a precise word for the painkiller shelf — aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, morphine — as a single functional class defined by what it does, not what it is.
Example
The dentist said the tooth was fine and told her a simple over-the-counter analgesic would handle the ache until the swelling went down.
Related idea
An analgesic kills pain; an anesthesia kills sensation itself, often along with consciousness. You take an analgesic for a headache and stay fully aware; you are put under anesthesia so you feel nothing at all during surgery.