Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Causing vomiting.
  • noun An agent that causes vomiting.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Inducing vomiting.
  • noun A medicine that induces vomiting.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Med.) Inducing to vomit; exciting the stomach to discharge its contents by the mouth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective medicine causing nausea and vomiting
  • noun an agent that induces vomiting

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a medicine that induces nausea and vomiting

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin emeticos, from Greek emetikos, from emetos, vomiting, from emein, to vomit; see wemə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Ancient Greek ἔμετος (emetos, "sickness")

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Examples

  • But of course, an emetic is out of the question in the present case.

    THE REJUVENATION OF MAJOR RATHBONE 1993

  • But remember the emetic which is given at _first_ is _pure Ipecacuanha

    Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children Pye Henry Chavasse 1844

  • It's like some kind of emetic factory, or something.

    CounterPunch 2009

  • It's like some kind of emetic factory, or something.

    CommonDreams.org Headlines 2009

  • The emetic was a disgusting practice of Roman _bon vivants_ who were afraid of indigestion.] [Footnote 3: The verse which Cicero quotes from Lucilius is fairly equivalent to this.] [Footnote 4: Probably by way of salute; or possibly as a precaution.]

    Cicero Ancient Classics for English Readers Rev. W. Lucas Collins 1852

  • It’s like some kind of emetic factory, or something.

    The Perils of Being Right and Wrong 2009

  • Third, each story and poem has, if available, a short epilogue from Zelazny himself explaining his own feelings about it, and also a glossary of literary references (most of which are accurate, though I wouldn't be surprised if the Miller whose writing has emetic effects is Henry rather than Arthur).

    Linkspam for 24-8-2009 nwhyte 2009

  • King was taken inside and an emetic administered, when he vomited up a quantity of the poison.

    SUICIDE 2010

  • The thought came to him that the emetic had failed, and that nothing remained but the drugstore.

    JUST MEAT 2010

  • They contain truly novel and "fresh" images -- "the hair-trigger emetic atmosphere of his throat."

    Style in Fiction 2009

Comments

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  • See camomile.

    July 8, 2008