philter

American  

[fil-ter] / ˈfɪl tər /

especially British, philtre

noun

1. a potion, charm, or drug supposed to cause the person taking it to fall in love, usually with some specific person.

2. a magic potion for any purpose.

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verb (used with object)

philtered, philtering

1. to enchant or bewitch with a philter.

Other Word Forms

• philterer
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of philter

First recorded in 1580–90; from French philtre, from Latin philtrum; see philtrum

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

philter philtered

Red Hugh fell afoul of a British agent who accomplished with a philter what could not be done by force.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then, with a warmth of determination worthy a younger man, he demanded an explanation, and received a confession of the poisonous love philter.

From Old-Time Gardens Newly Set Forth by Alice Morse Earle

She hastens to the Friar who married them, and he gives her the philter, which she accepts joyfully and carries home in her bosom.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 11, No. 24, March, 1873 by Various

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

Well, madam, you shall be supplied with a philter that never fails, on the payment ol twenty-one shillings.

From The Evil Eye; Or, The Black Spector The Works of William Carleton, Volume One by William Carleton

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

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Related Words

• draught
• elixir

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