elixir
nounEtymology
From Medieval Latin elixir (“philosopher's stone”), from Arabic اَلْإِكْسِير (al-ʔiksīr, “philosopher's stone”), from Ancient Greek ξηρίον (xēríon, “powder for drying wounds”), from ξηρός (xērós, “dry”).
- derived from ξηρίον
Definitions
A liquid which converts lead to gold.
- For Chinese alchemists, gold held the key to the Elixir, the Eastern equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone.
A substance or liquid which is believed to cure all ills and give eternal life.
The alleged cure for all ailments
The alleged cure for all ailments; cure-all, panacea.
- The silver-bullet cancer cures of yesterday’s newsmagazine covers, like interferon and angiogenesis inhibitors, disappointed the breathless expectations, as have elixirs such as antioxidants, Vioxx, and hormone replacement therapy.
›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer
A sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in…
A sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste.
- The subcommittee's report to the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry shows that the action of somnos is practically identical with that of a 5 per cent elixir of hydrated chloral.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at elixir. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at elixir. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
5 hops · closes at elixir
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA