aperient
[ uh-peer-ee-uh nt ]
/ əˈpɪər i ənt /
adjective
having a mild purgative or laxative effect.
noun
a medicine or food that acts as a mild laxative.
RELATED WORDS
purging, purge, laxative, physic, emetic, cathartic, excretory, purgative, evacuant, expulsive, expiatory, purgatorial, aperitive, lustral
Nearby words
- apeman,
- apennine mountains,
- apennines,
- apepi,
- apercu,
- aperiodic,
- aperistalsis,
- aperitif,
- aperitive,
- apert
Origin of aperient
1620–30; < Latin aperient- (stem of aperiēns opening, present participle of aperīre to open), equivalent to aperi- (apparently ap-, variant of ab- ab- + -eri-) + -ent- -ent; the base -eri-, perhaps with an earlier shape *wery- or *twery-, occurs only in this verb and operīre to close (see cover, operculum)
Also called aperitive.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for aperient
aperient
/ (əˈpɪərɪənt) med /
adjective
laxative
noun
a mild laxative
Word Origin for aperient
C17: from Latin aperīre to open
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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