elixir
NounUS[ih-lik-ser]/ɪˈlɪksɚ/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (3)
- a sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant tasteType of liquid
- hypothetical substance that the alchemists believed to be capable of changing base metals into goldSynonyms: philosopher's stonephilosophers' stoneType of substance
- a substance believed to cure all illsType of potion, panaceaKinds elixir of life
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
E·lix′ir noun
Origin: F. élixir, Sp. elixir, Ar. eliksīr the philosopher's stone, prob. from Gr. … dry, (hence probably) a dry powder; cf. Skr. kshā to burn.
1. Medicine A tincture with more than one base; a compound tincture or medicine, composed of various substances, held in solution by alcohol in some form.
2. Alchemy An imaginary liquor capable of transmuting metals into gold; also, one for producing life indefinitely; as, elixir vitæ, or the elixir of life.
3. The refined spirit; the quintessence.
The... elixir of worldly delights.— Robert South
4. Any cordial or substance which invigorates.
The grand elixir, to support the spirits of human nature.— Joseph Addison
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54