calefacient

American  

[kal-uh-fey-shuhnt] / ˌkæl əˈfeɪ ʃənt /

noun

1. Medicine/Medical. a substance, as mustard, that produces a sensation of heat when applied to the body.

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adjective

1. heating; warming.

calefacient British  

/ ˌkælɪˈfækʃən, ˌkælɪˈfeɪʃənt /

adjective

1. causing warmth

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noun

1. obsolete med an agent that warms, such as a mustard plaster

Other Word Forms

• calefaction noun

Etymology

Origin of calefacient

1655–65; < Latin calefacient- (stem of calefaciēns, present participle of calefacere to make warm), equivalent to cale- warm (stem of calēre to be warm) + -facient- -facient ( def. )

Example Sentences

This custom of the Huns is described by Ammianus Marcellinus, Hunni semicruda cujusvis Pecoris carne vescuntur, quasi inter femora sua & equorum terga subsertam, calefacient brevi.

From Hudibras by Butler, Samuel

The animal experimented upon to be supplied daily with a weighed quantity of food, the composition and calefacient value of which had been accurately determined.

From The Stock-Feeder's Manual the chemistry of food in relation to the breeding and feeding of live stock by Cameron, Charles Alexander, Sir