nootropic
/ˌnoʊəˈtɹoʊpɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.94 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A drug that enhances learning and memory and lacks the usual pharmacology of other psychotropic drugs (e.g. sedation, motor stimulation) and possesses very few side effects and extremely low toxicity.
adj
Relating to substances that enhance cognitive performance.
Example Sentences
- "Nootropics also include extracted and purified components of medicinal plants, as well as substances synthesized from chemical precursors, such as piracetam, the world's first official nootropic (piracetam was created in 1964 in Belgium by a team of scientists whose leader, Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea, coined the term)."
- "It's triggered and explosion of “functional” drinks featuring adaptogenic and nootropic ingredients; plants that in some cases have been used for thousands of years to boost mood and cognitive performance."
Etymology
Coined by Romanian psychologist and chemist Corneliu E. Giurgea in 1972, derived from the Ancient Greek words νόος (nóos, “mind”) and τροπέω (tropéō, “to turn”). By surface analysis, noo(s) + -tropic, literally “mind changing”.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌnoʊəˈtɹoʊpɪk/
Inflected Forms
nootropics (plural)
noötropic (alternative)
more nootropic (comparative)
most nootropic (superlative)