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elixir

eli·xir

UK/ɪˈlɪksə(ɹ)/ US/ə-/ uncommon

noun

1.

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

2.

a substance believed to cure all ills

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • elixir of life
  • elixir of vitriol
  • elixir proprietatis
  • elixir vitae

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.