veratrine

[ver-uh-treen, -trin]

noun Chemistry.

a white or grayish-white, slightly water-soluble, poisonous mixture of alkaloids obtained by extraction from the seeds of the sabadilla: formerly used in medicine as a counterirritant in the treatment of rheumatism and neuralgia.

Also ve·ra·tri·a

[vuh-rey-tree-uh, -ra-] /vəˈreɪ tri ə, -ˈræ-/.

Origin of veratrine

1815–25; < French < Latin vērātr(um) hellebore + French -ine -ine²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for veratrine

Historical Examples of veratrine

Used as a friction in rheumatism, and the other cases in which veratrine is employed.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
A dilute acetic solution of veratrine is turned to a superb red by strong sulphuric acid.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
In connection with this it is interesting to note that the effect of veratrine poison on muscle is somewhat similar.
Response in the Living and Non-Living
Jagadis Chunder Bose
The Continental authorities always give to cevadine the name of veratrine.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth
Veratrine, warmed with syrupy phosphoric acid, develops an odour of butyric acid.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth

British Dictionary definitions for veratrine

veratrine

veratrin (ˈvɛrətrɪn)

noun

a white poisonous mixture obtained from the seeds of sabadilla, consisting of veratridine and several other alkaloids: formerly used in medicine as a counterirritant

Word Origin for veratrine

C19: from Latin vērātrum hellebore + -ine ²

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