styptic

[stip-tik]

adjective

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

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

noun

1. a styptic agent or substance.

styptic

/ stɪpˈtɪsɪtɪ, ˈstɪptɪk /

adjective

1. contracting the blood vessels or tissues

noun

1. a styptic drug

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of styptic¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of styptic¹

C14: via Late Latin, from Greek stuptikos capable of contracting; see _stypsis

Example Sentences

The pilots transport medical supplies for cancer patients, first-aid kits for bone fractures, styptic drugs and medicines that need to be refrigerated, such as insulin.

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Herb robert smells musky when crushed, but the juice is a powerful styptic, stopping a cut or a thorn wound in seconds.

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Police say they found medical tape, nail files and styptic powder, used to stop bleeding.

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Also, styptic pencils to stanch cuts, and tampons, for nosebleeds, ominous inclusions in an environment where bodily fluids may be deadly.

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But I waited while he dabbed at the cut with styptic powder.

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