quinine
/ˈkwaɪ.naɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.53 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An alkaloid with the chemical formula C₂₀H₂₄N₂O₂, originally derived from cinchona bark (from plants of the genus Cinchona), used to treat malaria and as an ingredient of tonic water, which presents as a bitter colourless powder; also, a drug containing quinine or a chemical compound derived from it.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The alkali of yellow bark may be distinguished from cinchonine by the name of quinine."
- "The quinine, being more potent than cinchonine, is generally preferred."
- "In spite of quinine, the men sickened day by day. Many of them, fine, strong, active fellows, who had never known what a day's sickness meant, went down before the malarious mist that gathered in the jungles."
- "He hadn't the faintest idea what to do with a cold in the head, he just took quinine and continued to blow his nose."
- "“Die? Yes, they’ll all die—all these men. No bandages, no salves, no quinine, no chloroform. Oh, God, for some morphia! Just a little morphia for the worst ones. Just a little chloroform. God damn the Yankees! God damn the Yankees!”"
- "Quinine, taken in the evening, is considered by the Persians as an aphrodisiac aid."
Etymology
The noun is either: * derived from Spanish quina (“quinine”) (a clipping of quinaquina (“Cinchona bark”)) + English -ine (suffix forming names of chemical substances, especially (among others) alkaloidal substances); or * borrowed from French quinine, from quin(quina) (“Cinchona bark”) + -ine (feminine form of -in (suffix forming nouns)). Spanish quinaquina and French quinquina are both derived from Quechua kina-kina, a reduplication of kina (“bark; (specifically) Cinchona bark”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkwaɪ.naɪn/
- British English: /kwɪˈniːn/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Chemistry.