English Explanatory Dictionary

elixir

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A liquid which converts lead to gold.
  2. A substance or liquid which is believed to cure all ills and give eternal life.
  3. The alleged cure for all ailments; cure-all, panacea.
  4. A sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste.

Pronunciation

/ɪˈlɪksə(ɹ)/ /ə-/ /-ɪə(ɹ)/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-elixir.wav

Word forms

elixir elixirs

Etymology

From Medieval Latin elixir (“philosopher's stone”), from Arabic اَلْإِكْسِير (al-ʔiksīr, “philosopher's stone”), from Ancient Greek ξηρίον (xēríon, “powder for drying wounds”), from ξηρός (xērós, “dry”).

Derived words

elixiric elixirist elixirlike elixir of life elixir of vitriol elixir proprietatis elixir vitae

Translations

Afrikaans: elikser Arabic: إِكْسِير Bulgarian: еликси́р Catalan: elixir Chinese Mandarin: 鍊金藥 /炼金药 Danish: eliksir Finnish: eliksiiri Georgian: ელექსირი German: Elixier Greek: ελιξήριο Hungarian: elixír Italian: elisir Japanese: エリクサー Korean: 엘릭서 Lithuanian: eliksyras Norwegian Bokmål: eliksir Norwegian Nynorsk: eliksir Portuguese: elixir Russian: эликси́р Spanish: elixir Spanish: elíxir Turkish: eliksir
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