colocynth
Americannoun
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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.
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the fruit of this plant.
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Pharmacology. the drug derived from the pulp of the unripe but full-grown fruit of this plant, used in medicine chiefly as a purgative.
noun
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a cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Citrullus colocynthis, of the Mediterranean region and Asia, having bitter-tasting fruit
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the dried fruit pulp of this plant, used as a strong purgative
Etymology
Origin of colocynth
1555–65; < Latin colocynthis < Greek kolokynthís, variant of kolókyntha bitter gourd, bitter cucumber
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That is the true explanation of capsicums, pimento, colocynth, croton oil, the upas tree, and the vast majority of bitter, acrid, or fiery fruits and leaves.
From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant
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
Besides the monosyllable plinth, we have imported from the Greek colocynth, hyacinth, labyrinth, with the proper names Corinth, Erymanth, all terminating in nth.
From Notes and Queries, Number 189, June 11, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Bell, George
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
Only the zizyphus lotus, from whose branches little white snails hung like flowers, seemed to find real nourishment in the dry ground, though colocynth and wild lavender were to be seen now and again.
From Morocco by Forrest, A. S. (Archibald Stevenson)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
