potion

[ poh-shuhn ]

noun

1. a drink or draft, especially one having or reputed to have medicinal, poisonous, or magical powers:

   a love potion; a sleeping potion.

   Synonyms: philter, concoction, brew, elixir

potion

/ ˈpəʊʃən /

noun

1. a drink, esp of medicine, poison, or some supposedly magic beverage
2. See beverage
   a rare word for beverage

Word History and Origins

Origin of potion¹

1300–50; Middle English pocion < Latin pōtiōn- (stem of pōtiō ) a drinking, equivalent to pōt ( us ), variant of pōtātus, past participle of pōtāre to drink + -iōn- -ion; replacing Middle English pocioun < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of potion¹

C13: via Old French from Latin pōtiō a drink, especially a poisonous one, from pōtāre to drink

Example Sentences

Then, pick your potion from the recipes below and load that puppy up.

From Outside Online

Making these potions has become second nature to me—in the back of my mind I’m always wondering what would be nice in my afternoon herbal tea.

From Popular-Science

General potion principlesIt’s also worth keeping some spice notes in mind.

From Popular-Science

I like a wine-dark potion of whole coffee beans, which offer a deeper, rounder flavor than powder, and dried bay leaves, which I first crush to release their woodsy perfume.

From Washington Post

Sheldrake focused on Stamets’ solution for colony collapse disorder, feeding bees a fungal potion that can squelch a virus they may carry from environmental toxins.

From Nautilus

The rooms come equipped with 4-poster wooden beds, potion bottles, cauldrons, and Hogwartsian accents—perfect for us mere muggles.

From The Daily Beast

They are then blended with chicken broth and that potion is thickened with cream.

From The Daily Beast

Orange Is the New Black returns to Netflix with a wildly addictive potion of darkness, estrogen, and one-liners.

From The Daily Beast

According to the exhibition, a second person tried the same potion and died.

From The Daily Beast

Besides, you might find just that right potion to spice up the weekend.

From The Daily Beast

And it is not a bitter potion, such as Alfred ordered; no, it is balmy with the scent of wild flowers.

From Project Gutenberg

In the agitated form of melancholia, the patient is often quiet only when under the influence of a sleeping-potion.

From Project Gutenberg

That look had been a theft from Sylvia, not a gift; but she had given him the potion at last.

From Project Gutenberg

Nessus, before expiring, instructed Dejanira how to prepare a love potion for Hercules.

From Project Gutenberg

At length the young lady of Balnagowan tasted her sister-in-law's infernal potion, whereby she contracted an incurable disease.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• draught
• elixir