mithridatism
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- noun Tolerance or immunity to a poison acquired by taking gradually larger doses of it.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun Immunity against the action of a poison acquired by taking the drug in constantly increasing doses: a method said to have been conceived by Mithridates to protect himself against palace intrigues.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun The development of immunity to a poison by gradual ingestion of successively greater amounts.
Examples
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It's hard not to think of Iocane powder; but arsenic is a classic real example of a poison where mithridatism is possible, as with the (possibly exaggerated) Arsenic Eaters of Styria, 19th century Austrian peasants who habitually ate, as a tonic, normally lethal doses of arsenic.
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This is the case of (relative) immunization or, as it is sometimes called, of mithridatism.
Note
The word 'mithridatism' comes from the name of Mithridates VI of Pontus.
