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

Morrison's pills contain aloes and colocynth; aloes is also the chief ingredient in Holloway's pills.

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

Calomel, ten grains; Castile soap, extract of jalap, extract of colocynth, of each one scruple; oil of juniper, five drops: make into fifteen pills; one three times a day.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous

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

Paris, an English physician, had earlier reported that these pills consisted of aloes and jalap; the committee decided on aloes, with small amounts of colocynth and gamboge, as the purgatives of choice.

From Old English Patent Medicines in America by Griffenhagen, George B.

Dose, of the extract, from five to fifteen grains; of the compound extract, from five to fifteen grains; of the compound colocynth pill, the best of all its preparations, from ten to twenty grains.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous