vermifuge

American  

[vur-muh-fyooj] / ˈvɜr məˌfjudʒ /

adjective

1. serving to expel worms or other animal parasites from the intestines, as a medicine.

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noun

1. a vermifuge medicine or agent.

vermifuge British  

/ ˌvɜːmɪˈfjuːɡəl, ˈvɜːmɪˌfjuːdʒ /

noun

1. any drug or agent able to destroy or expel intestinal worms; an anthelmintic

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Other Word Forms

• vermifugal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of vermifuge

First recorded in 1690–1700; vermi- + -fuge

Example Sentences

In a dingy courtroom stinking of vermifuge, at Mays Landing, N. J., last week, two petty criminals stood before the bar of justice.

From Time Magazine Archive

He remembered hearing that vermifuge cures dogs of the "fits" and he saw no reason why it should not work on humans.

From Time Magazine Archive

From these circumstances, we should be led to conclude, that its efficacy as a vermifuge defends either upon its narcotic properties, or upon its sudden and powerful effect as a cathartic.

From A Dissertation on the Medical Properties and Injurious Effects of the Habitual Use of Tobacco by Stuart, Moses

Cowhage, kow′āj, n. the hairs of the pods of a tropical climbing plant of the bean family, administered as a mechanical vermifuge, the pods themselves or the plant.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

In autumn all horses that have been grazing should be dosed with some vermifuge to destroy the worms that are invariably present, and thus prevent colic or an unthrifty or anaemic state.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various