vomica
Americannoun
-
a cavity, usually in the lungs, containing pus.
-
the pus content of such a cavity.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of vomica
1565–75; < Latin: a boil, ulcer, equivalent to vom ( ere ) to discharge ( see vomit) + -ica, feminine of -icus -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nux vomica, rags, shavings, old paper, rope ends, old sausage casings and bladders, skeletons and false teeth.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nux vomica paralyzed the chest muscles; he fed his patients tiny doses to check asthma.
From Time Magazine Archive
This bitter, crystalline product of nux vomica is used as a tonic, stimulant and antidote in medicine.
From Time Magazine Archive
It had a dose of nux vomica strong enough to kill a horse.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Nux vomica, even, must be used in very minute doses, to be entirely safe—from a quarter of a grain to a small pup, to two grains to the largest animal.
From The Dog by Dinks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
