decoction
Americannoun
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the act of decocting.
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Pharmacology.
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an extract obtained by decocting.
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water in which a crude vegetable drug has been boiled and which therefore contains the constituents or principles of the substance soluble in boiling water.
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noun
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pharmacol the extraction of the water-soluble substances of a drug or medicinal plants by boiling
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the essence or liquor resulting from this
Other Word Forms
- decoctive adjective
Etymology
Origin of decoction
1350–1400; Middle English decoccioun < Old French decoction < Late Latin dēcoctiōn- (stem of dēcoctiō ) a boiling down, equivalent to dēcoct ( us ), past participle of dēcoquere ( dē- de- + coc-, for coquere to cook 1 + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion
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.
It takes about 10 minutes for the decoction to percolate into the glass below.
From BBC • Aug. 4, 2023
He'd no doubt find a bottle of decoction or a stock of sachets very handy in these situations.
From Salon • Dec. 24, 2020
"Stocking your fridge with decoction means freeing up time, while still savoring a super fresh, small-batch brew," she says.
From Salon • Dec. 24, 2020
The Chronicle vowed "to tell the truth about breakfasts of stale bread and rancid butterine, the watery tea, the pallid chicory decoction which serves for coffee, the crowded, dingy, and ill-ventilated dormitories".
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2014
She poured the decoction into a beaker and let it stand, and only then turned her full attention to the waking girl.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
