Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tartar emetic

noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.
  1. a white, water-soluble, sweet and metallic-tasting, poisonous powder or granules, C4H4KO7Sb, used as a mordant for dyeing textiles and leather, and in medicine as an expectorant, for inducing vomiting, and for infections by schistosomes.
Show More

Origin of tartar emetic

First recorded in 1695–1705
Also called antimony potassium tartrate, potassium antimonyl tartrate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for potassium antimonyl tartrate

Historical Examples

  • Calomel and tartar-emetic were administered, but without any effect.

    Washington and the American Republic, Vol. 3.

    Benson J. Lossing

  • Dressed it with tartar-emetic ointment until the skin was very sore; using iodine on other puts of the knee.

British Dictionary definitions for potassium antimonyl tartrate

tartar emetic

noun
  1. another name for antimony potassium tartrate
Show More
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
potassium antimonyl tartrate in Medicine

tartar emetic

n.
  1. A poisonous crystalline compound used in medicine as an expectorant and in the treatment of parasitic infections, such as schistosomiasis.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.