English Explanatory Dictionary

theriac

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A universal antidote against all poisons, particularly medicines considered to derive from a recipe of the Roman physician Andromachus and representing an improvement on mithridate.
  2. A hyponym of panacea.
  3. Synonym of antidote, particularly (pseudoscience) those incorporating snakemeat to cure snakebite.
  4. Synonym of molasses.
adj
  1. Synonym of theriacal: of or related to theriac.
  2. Synonym of medicinal.

Pronunciation

/ˈθɪriˌæk/ /ˈθɪəriˌæk/ /ˈθɪərɪak/

Word forms

theriac theriacs theriaca theriace theriack theriaque more theriac most theriac

Etymology

From Medieval Latin theriacum, from Ancient Greek θηριακὸν (thēriakòn) and Late Latin theriaca, from Ancient Greek θηριακὴ (thēriakḕ, “of or related to poisonous reptiles”), from θηρίον (thēríon, “little beast”) + -κός (-kós), from θήρ (thḗr, “beast”) + -ίον (-íon, diminutive suffix). Doublet of theriaca.

Synonyms

theriaca Venice treacle treacle mithridate antidote particularly molasses theriacal medicinal
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