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mescaline

[mes-kuh-leen, -lin]
noun Pharmacology.
  1. a white, water-soluble, crystalline powder, C11H17NO3, obtained from mescal buttons, that produces hallucinations.
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Origin of mescaline

First recorded in 1895–1900; mescal + -ine2
Can be confusedmescaline mesclun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mescaline

Historical Examples

  • Lysergic acid (LSD), mescaline, and psilocybin cause illusions and hallucinations.

    What Works: Schools Without Drugs

    United States Department of Education

  • It is common to have a bad psychological reaction to LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin.

    What Works: Schools Without Drugs

    United States Department of Education

British Dictionary definitions for mescaline

mescaline

mescalin

noun
  1. a hallucinogenic drug derived from mescal buttons. Formula: C 11 H 17 NO 3
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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 mescaline

n.

crystalline alkaloid, 1896, from German mezcalin (1896), so called because it originally was found in the buttons that grow atop the mescal cacti (see mescal). With chemical suffix -ine (2).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mescaline in Medicine

mescaline

(mĕs′kə-lēn′, -lĭn)
n.
  1. An alkaloid drug obtained from buttons of a small cactus (Lophophora williamsii) that has hallucinatory effects.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.