Origin: Latin prefix pre-
Prescribe has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
recommend as beneficial
"my mother prescribes a good night's sleep as the cure for all ills"
(medicine) order the use of (a treatment, medicine, etc.), usually by written prescription
"the doctor prescribed steroids for my ear trouble"
To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority).
"The doctor decided to prescribe an antibiotic because the lab results confirmed a bacterial infection."