philter
Americannoun
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a potion, charm, or drug supposed to cause the person taking it to fall in love, usually with some specific person.
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a magic potion for any purpose.
verb (used with object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of philter
First recorded in 1580–90; from French philtre, from Latin philtrum; see philtrum
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.
See Examples For:
Red Hugh fell afoul of a British agent who accomplished with a philter what could not be done by force.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Our betrothal," he answered, dreamily, as one who has set his lips to a philter.
From The Open Question a tale of two temperaments by Elizabeth Robins
"My philter, lady," cried the gipsy woman, who had left her donkey cart outside the line.
From The Mississippi Bubble by Emerson Hough
This valuable philter was not to be sent to the party till the next day.
From Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of Reproduction by John Davenport
The philter must be emptied quickly after the stopper is removed from the vial.
From The Pocket Bible or Christian the Printer A Tale of the Sixteenth Century by Eug?ne Sue
So shocked was Byron that he complained that the book was filled with "the philtered ideas of a jaded voluptuary."
From Time Magazine Archive
These descriptions ought to have been written by Tiberius at Caprea—they are forced—the philtered ideas of a jaded voluptuary.
From The Works of Lord Byron: Letters and Journals. Vol. 2 by Rowland Edmund Prothero, Baron Ernle
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.
