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expectorant

[ik-spek-ter-uh nt]Medicine/Medical, Pharmacology
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adjective
  1. promoting the discharge of phlegm or other fluid from the respiratory tract.
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noun
  1. an expectorant medicine.
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Origin of expectorant

1775–85; < Latin expectorant- (stem of expectorāns), present participle of expectorāre to expectorate; see -ant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

expectorant

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British Dictionary definitions for expectorant

expectorant

adjective
  1. promoting the secretion, liquefaction, or expulsion of sputum from the respiratory passages
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noun
  1. an expectorant drug or agent
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for expectorant

n.

1782, from Latin expectorantem (nominative expectorans), present participle of expectorare (see expectorate). From 1811 as an adjective.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
expectorant in Medicine

expectorant

(ĭk-spĕk′tər-ənt)
adj.
  1. Promoting or facilitating the secretion or expulsion of phlegm, mucus, or other matter from the respiratory tract.
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n.
  1. An expectorant medicine.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
expectorant in Science

expectorant

[ĭk-spĕk′tər-ənt]
  1. A drug that promotes the discharge of phlegm or mucus from the respiratory tract.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.