Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The root of Ipomæa (Convolvulus) Turpethum, a plant of Ceylon, Malabar, and Australia, which has a cathartic property. (See Indian jalap, under jalap.) It is sometimes called vegetable turpeth to distinguish it from mineral turpeth.
  • noun Turpeth-mineral.—

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

  • noun (Bot.) The root of Ipomœa Turpethum, a plant of Ceylon, Malabar, and Australia, formerly used in medicine as a purgative; -- sometimes called vegetable turpeth.
  • noun (Chem.) A heavy yellow powder, Hg3O2SO4, which consists of a basic mercuric sulphate; -- called also turpeth mineral.

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

  • noun Operculina turpethum, a plant in the morning glory family.
  • noun chemistry, obsolete A heavy yellow powder with chemical formula Hg3O2SO4.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Ultimately from Persian.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word turpeth.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "'He was given a bolus of a scruple of musk with two grains of opium; then a composition of fifteen grains of musk, one of turpeth mineral... and an embrocation of two ounces of laudanum...'"

    --Patrick O'Brian, The Truelove, 143

    March 11, 2008