ipecac
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Contraction of ipecacuanha, from Portuguese ipecacuanha, from Old Tupi ypekakûãîa, from ypeka (“duck”) + akûãîa (“penis”).
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]ipecac (countable and uncountable, plural ipecacs)
- The dried rhizome and roots of either of two tropical American plants (Cephaelis acuminata and Cephaelis ipecacuanha) of the madder family used especially as a source of emetine.
- (pharmacology) An emetic and expectorant drug that contains emetine and is prepared from ipecac especially as a syrup for use in treating accidental poisoning.
- Synonym: syrup of ipecac
- The shrub that produces ipecac (Cephaelis ipecacuanha), native to Brazil and cultivated elsewhere.
References
[edit]- “ipecacuanha”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “ipecac”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.