ipecac

American  

[ip-i-kak] / ˈɪp ɪˌkæk /

Also ipecacuanha

noun

1. the dried root of a shrubby South American plant, Cephaelis ipecacuanha, of the madder family.

2. the plant itself.

3. a drug consisting of the dried roots of this plant, used as an emetic, purgative, etc., and as the source of emetine.

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Etymology

Origin of ipecac

1780–90, short for ipecacuanha < Portuguese < Tupi ipekaaguéne, equivalent to ipeh low + kaâ leaves + guéne vomit

Example Sentences

Indeed there is something effluvial about the entire book, as if the #MeToo movement provided her, narratively speaking, with a stiff dose of ipecac syrup.

From New York Times

After some ipecac and a round of vomiting that would be right at home in a Mel Brooks comedy, he’s fine.

From New York Times

On it were items such as ipecac syrup, a crank radio and a whistle.

From Washington Post

Quinine, aspirin, codeine, ipecac, and pseudoephedrine are among the common remedies that, according to Cox and Balick, we owe to ethnobotanists guided and informed by indigenous peoples.

From The New Yorker

Whether from ipecac or from malnourishment alone, Carpenter was so weak by the mid-’70s that she could do little more than lie down between shows.

From Time