nostrum
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (2)nostrums
- hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemistsSynonyms: panaceacatholiconcure-allType of remedy, curativeKinds elixir
- patent medicine whose efficacy is questionableType of patent medicine
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Nos′trum (-trŭm), noun; pl. Nostrums (-trŭmz).
Origin: Neut. sing. of L. noster ours, fr. nos we. See Us.
1. A medicine, the ingredients of which are kept secret for the purpose of restricting the profits of sale to the inventor or proprietor; a quack medicine.
2. Any scheme or device proposed by a quack.
The incentives of agitators, the arts of impostors and the nostrums of quacks.— Lord Henry Brougham
3. Any scheme asserted to solve a problem, but with no objective basis for belief in its effectiveness; esp., in politics, a scheme or proposal likely to prove popular with voters.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors