Definitions

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

  • noun A hallucinogenic compound, C12H17N2O4P, obtained from mushrooms chiefly of the genus Psilocybe.

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

  • noun A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD.

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

  • noun a hallucinogenic compound obtained from a mushroom

Etymologies

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

[New Latin Psīlocybē, mushroom genus (Greek psīlos, bare + Greek kubē, head) + –in.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

After German Psilocybin (coined by Albert Hofmann), from modern Latin psilocybe, from Greek ψιλός ‘smooth’ + κύβη ‘head’.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I found this word in an aritcle titled "Magic mushrooms may ease anxiety of cancer: study" by Julie Steenhuysen. The sentence in which it was used was "Cancer patients given a moderate dose of psilocybin -- a hallucinogen with effects similar to LSD -- were measurably less depressed six months after a single dose compared with a placebo."

    September 7, 2010