Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A tincture of opium, formerly used as a drug.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
ladanum . - noun Tincture of opium. See
opium .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Tincture of opium, used for various medical purposes.
- noun (Bot.) See under
Dutchman .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
tincture ofopium , once widely used for variousmedical purposes and as arecreational drug . - verb To add laudanum to (a drink or the like).
- verb rare To cause (a person) to be
high on laudanum.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun narcotic consisting of an alcohol solution of opium or any preparation in which opium is the main ingredient
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"To be sure I did, to calm down the pain; and that was what I call laudanum and Mr Briscoe here calls opium."
Old Gold The Cruise of the "Jason" Brig George Manville Fenn 1870
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Paracelsus created the narcotic opium, which he called laudanum, for his patients.
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'Is not it shocking to think,' continued she, after she had swallowed it, 'that in laudanum alone I find the means of supporting existence?'
Belinda 1801
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Meanwhile, the tansy powder would do Clifford no harm, and the laudanum was a proper treatment for this acute period.
City of Glory Beverly Swerling 2007
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Meanwhile, the tansy powder would do Clifford no harm, and the laudanum was a proper treatment for this acute period.
City of Glory Beverly Swerling 2007
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Perhaps this wet cloth in the original, is what we now call laudanum; a potion that overspreads the faculties, as the wet cloth did the face of the royal patient; and the translator knew not how to render it.
Clarissa Harlowe 2006
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A tin of Blue Pills, so labeled, and a bottle, not labeled, but recognizable, of black draught-laudanum, that is.
A Breath of Snow and Ashes Gabaldon, Diana 2005
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And one of the things she did to help herself during this period was to take laudanum, which is a kind of opium derivative.
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As to the tincture of opium (commonly called laudanum) THAT might certainly intoxicate if a man could bear to take enough of it; but why?
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The true gum opium, and laudanum, which is its tincture, are derived from Eastern
Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure William Thomas Fernie
inkhorn commented on the word laudanum
Poe's nepenthe and poison hemlock.
December 15, 2006
samoritan commented on the word laudanum
Laudanum is opium and was once used as a pain reliever before people realized it was addictive. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was taking this when he went into a reverie and wrote "Kubla Kahn", one of the great poems of the late 17th century.
June 11, 2007
seanahan commented on the word laudanum
Medicating in the sun
Pinched doses of laudanum
Longing for the old fecundity of my homeland
June 12, 2007
samoritan commented on the word laudanum
...Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass.
Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged...
June 12, 2007
ruzuzu commented on the word laudanum
"Paracelsus, born Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493–1541) in Salzburg, Austria, a 16th century Swiss-German alchemist, discovered that the alkaloids in opium are far more soluble in alcohol than water. Having experimented with various opium concoctions, Paracelsus came across a specific tincture of opium that was of considerable use in reducing pain. He called this preparation laudanum, derived from the Latin verb laudare, to praise. Initially, the term 'laudanum' referred to any combination of opium and alcohol. Indeed, Paracelsus' laudanum was strikingly different from the standard laudanum of the 17th century and beyond. His preparation contained opium, crushed pearls, musk, amber, and other substances. One researcher has documented that 'Laudanum, as listed in the London Pharmacoepoeia (1618), was a pill made from opium, saffron, castor, ambergris, musk and nutmeg.'"
--Wikipedia
September 13, 2010
dailyword commented on the word laudanum
This was used on Blakeney when his arm was amputated.
June 16, 2012