colocynth

[ kol-uh-sinth ]

noun

1. a plant, Citrullus colocynthis, belonging to the gourd family, of the warmer parts of Asia, the Mediterranean region, etc., bearing a round, yellow or green fruit with a bitter pulp.
2. the fruit of this plant.
3. Pharmacology. the drug derived from the pulp of the unripe but full-grown fruit of this plant, used in medicine chiefly as a purgative.

colocynth

/ ˈkɒləsɪnθ /

noun

1. a cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Citrullus colocynthis, of the Mediterranean region and Asia, having bitter-tasting fruit
2. the dried fruit pulp of this plant, used as a strong purgative

Word History and Origins

Origin of colocynth¹

1555–65; < Latin colocynthis < Greek kolokynthís, variant of kolókyntha bitter gourd, bitter cucumber

Word History and Origins

Origin of colocynth¹

C17: from Latin colocynthis, from Greek kolokunthis, from kolokunthē gourd, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Aloes are, perhaps, the best, combined with colocynth; the dose will vary with the size of the animal.

From Project Gutenberg

Scammony and rhubarb, mixed in a bran wash, or with Indian meal, may be given with advantage on the following day; or, equal portions of blue-pill mass and compound colocynth pill, formed into a bolus with butter.

From Project Gutenberg

Ordered blue mass, comp. extr. colocynth., aa gr. v, to be taken at once.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a dead flat of uninhabited earth; orange colocynth balls, a little wormwood, and some alkaline plants which camels eat, being its chief products.

From Project Gutenberg

Its effects upon mental conditions are marked by depression of spirits, irritability, inability to study, or to remember what has been read, bringing to our minds Aconite, Bryonia, Chamomilla, Coffea, Colocynth, Ignatia, Lachesis, Mercury, Nux vomica, Staphisagria, Stramonium, and Veratrum.

From Project Gutenberg