calomel

American  

[kal-uh-mel, -muhl] / ˈkæl əˌmɛl, -məl /

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a white, tasteless powder, Hg 2 Cl 2 , used chiefly as a purgative and fungicide.

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calomel British  

/ -məl, ˈkæləˌmɛl /

noun

1. a colourless tasteless powder consisting chiefly of mercurous chloride, used medicinally, esp as a cathartic. Formula: Hg 2 Cl 2

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Etymology

Origin of calomel

1670–80; < New Latin calomelas coined from Greek kaló ( s ) fair + mélas black; allegedly so called because its original preparation involved turning black powder into white

Example Sentences

Although most mercury compounds are now known to be poisonous, eighteenth-century physicians used calomel as a medication.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Their patients rarely suffered any mercury poisoning from the treatments because calomel has a very low solubility, as suggested by its very small Ksp:

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

One doctor reported a patient who took so much calomel that his teeth fell out, then the upper and lower jawbones came out "in the form of horse shoes."

From Time Magazine Archive

Castor oil and calomel are drastic cathartics, should be taken only on advice of a physician.

From Time Magazine Archive

To ease the dying man, he administered a dose of calomel and placed loaves of hot bread around his body.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri