I would like to see an example of its common, everyday use.
Although the subject line of this topic is
faerie, Les's challenge relates to the word
apothecary.
In Smith Street, Fitzroy - 9 minutes drive away from where I sit according to Google Maps - is The Melbourne Apothecary, a naturopathic practitioner. Also in nearby suburbs are The Holistic Apothecary in South Yarra; Homeopathy Clinic Melbourne, The Family Apothecary in Kew; Thornbury Apothecary, a reiki therapist; and several others, including the Animal Apothecary, pet supply store.
Presumably the staff at these establishments use the word every day.
In the News on the Web corpus there are 6 articles using the word from the first 7 days of this month - almost every day!
Forbes, 7 September:
Contained in a luxurious refillable, reusable and recyclable apothecary bottle, this pure and naked skin elixir held the promise of youth in a bottle.
Shemazing (Ireland), 6 September:
This almost perfectly preserved old time apothecary is one of Cork city’s most unique wine and dining experiences. Offering a range of different wines are available from behind the counter, along with a selection of medicines, look around their glass cabinets and investigate the medicines, cosmetics, and apothecary accoutrements from the past 120 years.
Forbes, 5 September:
Beauty brands include Inika Organic, Lola's Apothecary, Green Planet Beauty, Juni Cosmetics, as well as a strong selection of health and wellbeing products, such as kombucha, candles, and essential oils.
New York Times, 3 September:
And before they left, they were invited to pick one of the many drawers of a custom apothecary cabinet on the main floor, each filled with a playful parting gift.
Gizmodo, 1 September:
A new fantasy series begins in this tale of an apothecary apprentice who's working to cure a devastating plague the land's rulers have chosen to ignore.
bdnews24 (Bangladesh), 1 September:
But the explosion of tidy cubbies and drawers that causes an ultramodern kitchen to resemble the study of a 19th-century apothecary is not merely the result of refrigerators becoming cabinets. Cabinets, too, are becoming refrigerators.
Most dictionaries identify
apothecary as dated, historic, archaic, etc. The one exception I spotted is the American Heritage online dictionary, which has no such comments, for some reason. I think we could say that the word has a definite old time feel about it. Perhaps the alternative medicine crowd are drawn to the word because they have little regard for the achievements of medical science over the last few centuries.
At any rate, the word is still used fairly often in various contexts: historical fiction and fantasy, products such as apothecary jars and cabinets, new age type businesses. In the many instances where news stories use the word, I didn't see any who felt the need to explain to readers what it meant, so I assume the word is pretty widely known. I'm leaving it as a common word.