vermifuge

American  

[vur-muh-fyooj] / ˈvɜr məˌfyudʒ /

adjective

1. serving to expel worms or other animal parasites from the intestines, as a medicine.

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noun

1. a vermifuge medicine or agent.

vermifuge British  

/ ˌvɜːmɪˈfjuːɡəl, ˈvɜːmɪˌfjuːdʒ /

noun

1. any drug or agent able to destroy or expel intestinal worms; an anthelmintic

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Other Word Forms

• vermifugal adjective

Etymology

Origin of vermifuge

First recorded in 1690–1700; vermi- + -fuge

Example Sentences

Purslane, which the Cherokee used as a vermifuge because its scarlet stalks looked vaguely wormlike, is also a powerful antioxidant.

From New York Times

If I can’t quite get the hang of poverty-chastity-and-obedience, I can learn instead about vermifuges, breech deliveries, arrow wounds, gangrene, and elephantiasis.

From Literature

We cannot, therefore, cure dogs of harbouring worms by giving expellent doses, no matter how glowingly advertised and boomed, of the various irritant drugs which act as vermifuges.

From Project Gutenberg

Tape-worm.—Recently attention has been called to cocoanuts as a vermifuge.

From Project Gutenberg

In autumn all horses that have been grazing should be dosed with some vermifuge to destroy the worms that are invariably present, and thus prevent colic or an unthrifty or anaemic state.

From Project Gutenberg