elixir

[ ih-lik-ser ]

noun

1. Pharmacology. a sweetened, aromatic solution of alcohol and water containing, or used as a vehicle for, medicinal substances.
2. Also called elixir of life. an alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of prolonging life.
3. an alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold.
4. the quintessence or absolute embodiment of anything.
5. a panacea; cure-all; sovereign remedy.

elixir

/ ɪˈlɪksə /

noun

1. an alchemical preparation supposed to be capable of prolonging life indefinitely ( elixir of life ) or of transmuting base metals into gold
2. anything that purports to be a sovereign remedy; panacea
3. an underlying principle; quintessence
4. a liquid containing a medicinal drug with syrup, glycerine, or alcohol added to mask its unpleasant taste

Word History and Origins

Origin of elixir¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin < Arabic al iksīr alchemical preparation < Late Greek xḗrion drying powder (for wounds), equivalent to Greek xēr ( ós ) dry + -ion, neuter of -ios adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of elixir¹

C14: from Medieval Latin, from Arabic al iksīr the elixir, probably from Greek xērion powder used for drying wounds, from xēros dry

Example Sentences

Football “is what Plato calls a pharmakon, a poison and an elixir,” he writes.

From The Daily Beast

And the rising star still standing just might be in the best position to offer some elixir to our deeply ailing political system.

From The Daily Beast

Only she can make hetersoexuality sound like a life-saving elixir that I need to inject directly into my veins.

From The Daily Beast

My wife had a very deadly form of cancer, and his story was a powerful elixir that helped us get through it.

From The Daily Beast

How a 1,000-year-old fragrant elixir traveled over continents and time to become the signature drink of the Kentucky Derby.

From The Daily Beast

He is seeking the elixir of long life, for which superior minds have been seeking these two thousand years.

From Project Gutenberg

Your elixir will not prevent a chimney falling on a man, a bullet going clear through him, or a horse kicking his skull open?

From Project Gutenberg

I gave him the precious elixir which my mother alone on earth could draw from roots such as no eye of man has ever seen.

From Project Gutenberg

Sanatogen, the new elixir of life compounded of casein and glycerophosphates, has been noticed in The Journal from time to time.

From Project Gutenberg

The result was that our friend sent to Kansas for the "Elixir of Life."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cure-all
• panacea
• potion