Elixir
- 1. In common use elixir is a sweetened aromatic
solution of alcohol and water, serving as a vehicle for medicine, as in Elixir
of terpenhydrate with codeine.
- 2. A substance that was believed to have the power of
turning base metal into gold, also called the philosopher’s stone.
- 3. A panacea (or cure-all)
- 4. Elixir of life a medicine that would bestow long life and eternal
youth.
Elixir comes to us through Old French
from Arabic al, the and iksir from Greek xerion, a drying
powder for putting on wounds, < xeros, dry (cf. xerox, xerophage,
as in "My cat is a xerophage.").
Other words from Arabic and Greek
- acacia
- alchemy
- Almagest
- antimony
- burnoose
- carat
- caraway
- jasper
- moussaka
- scarlet
- surd
- talisman
- tarragon
- typhoon
- zircon
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