cantharides

American  

[kan-thar-i-deez] / kænˈθær ɪˌdiz /

plural noun

• cantharis
  singular

1. Spanish fly.

2. cantharis. Spanish fly.

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cantharides British  

/ kænˈθærɪˌdiːz /

plural noun

1. Also called: Spanish fly. a diuretic and urogenital stimulant or irritant prepared from the dried bodies of Spanish fly (family Meloidae, not Cantharidae ), once thought to be an aphrodisiac

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Etymology

Origin of cantharides

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, plural of cantharis < Greek kantharís blister fly

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cantharides cantharis

For example, cantharides purchased from the Marshalls' apothecary shop in Philadelphia in 1776 cost 10 shillings per pound as compared with the cantharides Craigie purchased in Baltimore in 1778 at £20 per pound.

From Drug Supplies in the American Revolution by George B. Griffenhagen

Secretion of subcutaneous mucus is increased by blisters of cantharides, by application of a thin slice of the fresh root of white briony, by sinapisms, by root of horse-radish, cochlearia armoracia.

From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Erasmus Darwin

Tincture of cantharides, or repeated blisters; afterwards opiates in small doses, and the bark.

From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Erasmus Darwin

When applied in this fashion a certain quantity of the cantharides is absorbed.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various

A cantharides blister may be applied, or the following ointment used: Biniodid of mercury 1 part, lard 6 parts; mix.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry

Under this heading may also be mentioned the domesticated insects, the silkworm, the bee and the cantharis.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various

The cantharis is largely reared in Spain, but also in other countries in southern and central Europe.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various

But Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, enumerates plainly enough some sort of ὕαινα or plaice, when he says— The cantharis, hyæna, and the mullet.

From The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athen?us by Athen?us

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