styptic

American  

[stip-tik] / ˈstɪp tɪk /

adjective

1. serving to contract organic tissue; astringent; binding.

2. serving to check hemorrhage or bleeding, as a drug; hemostatic.

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noun

1. a styptic agent or substance.

styptic British  

/ stɪpˈtɪsɪtɪ, ˈstɪptɪk /

adjective

1. contracting the blood vessels or tissues

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noun

1. a styptic drug

Other Word Forms

• nonstyptic
  adjective
• nonstyptical
  adjective
• stypticalness
  noun
• stypticity
  noun

Etymology

Origin of styptic

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin stȳpticus < Greek stȳpikós contractile, equivalent to stȳp- ( see stypsis) + -tikos -tic

Explanation

In medicine, something that's styptic is meant to stop the flow of blood. Some people have styptic pencils in their medicine cabinets in case they cut themselves shaving. Styptic agents (like styptic pencils) slow bleeding from cuts. They contain astringents that work to contract tissue and seal blood vessels, and before the invention of safety razors, they were a common part of shaving kits. The Greek root of styptic is styphein, "to constrict."

Example Sentences

Styptic, stip′tik, adj. drawing together: astringent: that stops bleeding.—n. an agent employed in surgery for the purpose of checking the flow of blood by application to the bleeding surface: an astringent medicine.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Perhaps this is so in the original Styptic, for, as I have said, I cannot repose implicit faith in my young friend's version.—H. B. J.

From A Bayard From Bengal Being some account of the Magnificent and Spanking Career of Chunder Bindabun Bhosh,... by Jabberjee, Hurry Bungsho