paregoric

[ par-i-gawr-ik, -gor- ]

/ ˌpær ɪˈgɔr ɪk, -ˈgɒr- /

noun Pharmacology.

a camphorated tincture of opium, containing benzoic acid, anise oil, etc., used chiefly to stop diarrhea in children.

any soothing medicine; anodyne.

adjective

Archaic. assuaging pain; soothing.

Nearby words

pardubice, pardy, pare, parecious, paregmenon, paregoric, pareidolia, pareira, pareira brava, paren., parenchyma

Origin of paregoric

1675–85; < Late Latin parēgoricus < Greek parēgorikós soothing, equivalent to parḗgor(os) pertaining to consolatory speech (equivalent to par- par- + -ēgor-, combining form of agorā́ agora¹ + -os adj. suffix) + -ikos -ic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for paregoric

Besides nearly breaking my neck, I broke the paregoric bottle and got glass in my feet.
Watch Yourself Go By|Al. G. Field
So I took a vial of paregoric from my pocket and give it a drop and it went off to sleep like an angel.
Hidden Hand|Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
Boil them to a syrup; and when quite cold, add two table-spoonfuls of paregoric elixir, which is made in the following manner.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,|Mary Eaton
Powders used for colds in the nose, also paregoric and laudanum, contain these harmful drugs.
Health Lessons|Alvin Davison

I consider that, more than to anything else, I owe the success of our great undertaking to arnica and paregoric.
A Tramp Abroad, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for paregoric

paregoric

/ (ˌpærəˈɡɒrɪk) /

noun

a medicine containing opium, benzoic acid, camphor (English paregoric) or ammonia (Scottish paregoric), and anise oil, formerly widely used to relieve diarrhoea and coughing in children

Word Origin for paregoric

C17 (meaning: relieving pain): via Late Latin from Greek parēgorikos soothing, from parēgoros relating to soothing speech, from para- 1 (beside, alongside of) + -ēgor-, from agoreuein to speak in assembly, from agora assembly

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 paregoric

paregoric

"medicine that soothes pain," 1704, from adjective (1680s) "soothing," from Late Latin paregoricus, from Greek paregorikos "soothing, encouraging, consoling," from paregorein "speak soothingly to," from paregoros "consoling," from para- "beside" (see para- (1)) + root of agoreuein "speak in public," from agora "public assembly," from PIE root *ger- "to gather" (see gregarious).

Medicine definitions for paregoric

paregoric

[ păr′ə-gôr′ĭk ]

n.

A camphorated tincture of opium, taken internally for the relief of diarrhea and intestinal pain.