vomica

[vom-i-kuh]

noun

Pathology.

plural

vomicae 

1. a cavity, usually in the lungs, containing pus.

2. the pus content of such a cavity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of vomica¹

1565–75; < Latin: a boil, ulcer, equivalent to vom ( ere ) to discharge ( vomit ) + -ica, feminine of -icus -ic

Example Sentences

It had a dose of nux vomica strong enough to kill a horse.

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Other products included belladonna and nux vomica, which contains strychnine — a well-known poison used to kill rodents.

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She carefully squeezed a few drops of clear liquid into the glass, a tincture of nux vomica.

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I lingered over a case of vintage pharmaceuticals that included a vial of something called nux vomica and another labeled “endocroids.”

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Strychnine, made from the seeds of the south-east Asian Nux vomica tree, was equally fashionable, as – in the Middle Ages – was atropine, aka belladonna or deadly nightshade: the juice of a few berries could be lethal.

Read more on The Guardian