Meaning & use

paregoric

noun·Advanced

A historical medicine made from opium and camphor, once used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea.

See it in a sentence

Doctors in the nineteenth century often prescribed paregoric to soothe a crying infant.

The old pharmacy jar was labeled paregoric, a remedy rarely used today.

A note on using this word

'Paregoric' is sometimes misspelled 'paragoric'; the medicine is now tightly restricted or banned in most countries because it contains opium.

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