colocynth

American  

[kol-uh-sinth] / ˈkɒl ə sɪnθ /

noun

1. a plant, Citrullus colocynthis, belonging to the gourd family, of the warmer parts of Asia, the Mediterranean region, etc., bearing a round, yellow or green fruit with a bitter pulp.

2. the fruit of this plant.

3. Pharmacology. the drug derived from the pulp of the unripe but full-grown fruit of this plant, used in medicine chiefly as a purgative.

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colocynth British  

/ ˈkɒləsɪnθ /

noun

1. a cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Citrullus colocynthis, of the Mediterranean region and Asia, having bitter-tasting fruit

2. the dried fruit pulp of this plant, used as a strong purgative

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Etymology

Origin of colocynth

1555–65; < Latin colocynthis < Greek kolokynthís, variant of kolókyntha bitter gourd, bitter cucumber

Example Sentences

Our ragged fellows ran about singing, in search of thorns or long roots, or even the straggling plants of bitter colocynth, as fuel for our cooking-fire.

From Byeways in Palestine by Finn, James

Our English plant, the Bryonia dioica, purges as actively as colocynth, if too freely administered.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas

The chief vegetable purgatives are aloes, colocynth, gamboge, jalap, scammony, seeds of castor-oil plant, croton-oil, elaterium, the hellebores, and colchicum.

From Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology by Robertson, W. G. Aitchison (William George Aitchison )

One of the principal ingredients in the mummy balsam is colocynth, or bitter apple, powdered.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829 by Various

In minute doses colocynth acts simply as a bitter, but is never given for this purpose.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various