Definitions
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun ancient king of Pontus who expanded his kingdom by defeating the Romans but was later driven out by Pompey (132-63 BC)
Etymologies
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Examples
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As, notwithstanding all his precautions, it was not impossible that some of his household might be attacked by the distemper, he took care to provide proper remedies, and, to Blaize's infinite delight, furnished himself with mithridates, Venice treacle, diascorium, the pill rufus
Old Saint Paul's A Tale of the Plague and the Fire William Harrison Ainsworth 1843
thinkingsage commented on the word mithridates
According to legends, the history of theriac begins with the king Mithridates VI of Pontus who experimented with poisons and antidotes on his prisoners. His numerous toxicity experiments eventually led him to declare that he had discovered an antidote for every venomous reptile and poisonous substance. He mixed all the effective antidotes into a single one, mithridatium or mithridate. Mithridate contained opium, myrrh, saffron, ginger, cinnamon and castor, along with some forty other ingredients.
January 30, 2009