nostrum

noun
/ˈnɒs.tɹəm/UK/ˈnɑ.stɹəm/US

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin nostrum (“ours”), nominative neuter of noster (“our, ours”).

  1. learned borrowing from nostrum

Definitions

  1. A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable…

    A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects.

    • Near-synonyms: paternoster, patent medicine, snake oil
    • In precisely the same way does a quack doctor prescribe his infallible nostrum to every patient, without taking into account differences of constitution, or [...]
  2. An ineffective but favorite remedy for a problem, usually involving political action.

    • reformers of church charities [...made] known […] their different nostrums for setting Hiram's Hospital on its feet again.
    • In a paper being published today, he writes: "The traditional Conservative vision of welfare as a safety net encompasses another outdated Tory nostrum - that poverty is absolute, not relative. […]

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for nostrum. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA