vermifuge

American  

[vur-muh-fyooj] / ˈvɜr məˌfyudʒ /

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

In India they give internally 6–12 grams as a vermifuge, and for dyspepsia with “heartburn.”

From The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by Thomas, Jerome Beers

In the Philippines it is used internally for dysentery, and in India for the same purpose and as a vermifuge.

From The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by Thomas, Jerome Beers

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