The placebo effect has been a topic of interest in medicine for many hundreds of years. A historical evaluation of the topic demonstrates how the origin of the word, and its initial use in society and in medicine, has shaped its meaning over many years. In fact, the understanding of placebo effects is only now changing, largely due to an exponential rise in dedicated research into placebo mechanisms, clinical applications, and publications promoting re-evaluation of many longstanding interpretations of the topic. Placebo has been one key element in the overall history of medicine, and therefore the history of placebo is an important component of the appreciation of the history of medicine.