paregoric
/pɛɹɪˈɡɔɹɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.26 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A painkiller; a medicine which soothes or relieves pain; specifically the traditional patent medicine consisting of camphorated tincture of opium.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "They bought paregoric in the drug store and drank it. They formed a drugged and stupefied line against the side of the drug store building. Studs was so helpless that Red Kelly had to take him home."
- "My local doctor promises to accompany me ashore, spare no expense to obtain powerful paregorics & remain at my bedside until my recovery is compleat, even if Prophetess must leave for California without us."
- "paregoric elixir"
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek παρηγορικός (parēgorikós, “soothing”), from παρηγορέω (parēgoréō, “to console, comfort”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: παρηγορικός
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɛɹɪˈɡɔɹɪk/
- British English: /pæɹɪˈɡɒɹɪk/
Usage
Inflected Forms
paregorics (plural)
paregorick (alternative)
more paregoric (comparative)
most paregoric (superlative)