suppository

[ suh-poz-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

noun

, plural sup·pos·i·to·ries.

1. a solid, conical mass of medicinal substance that melts upon insertion into the rectum or vagina.

suppository

/ -trɪ; səˈpɒzɪtərɪ /

noun

1. med an encapsulated or solid medication for insertion into the vagina, rectum, or urethra, where it melts and releases the active substance

Word History and Origins

Origin of suppository¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin suppositōrium, equivalent to supposi-, variant stem of suppōnere ( suppose ) + -tōrium -tory ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of suppository¹

C14: from Medieval Latin suppositōrium, from Latin suppositus placed beneath, from suppōnere; see suppose

Example Sentences

That she and Franklyn task themselves with rewriting the copy instead of simply asking some lackey on the marketing team to request a less geriatric word for “suppository” is a colossal waste of their time.

From New York Times

“Sir, you may rest assured that I will not make The Style Invitational a suppository of bathroom humor.”

From Washington Post

By Wednesday evening, only three boxes of generic ibuprofen chewables, two boxes of generic acetaminophen chewables and six boxes of suppository acetaminophen remained.

From Washington Post

The tower that he made in Barcelona that looks like a suppository is very funny.

From New York Times

To counteract what he derides as “suppository” structures — Jean Nouvel’s Agbar Tower in Barcelona, Norman Foster’s so-called Gherkin in London and Renzo Piano’s Weltstadthaus department store in Cologne — Pesce hopes to one day break ground on a building in New York City in which each floor is designed by a different architect.

From New York Times

Related Words

• alleged
• assumed
• putative
• regarded
• rumored
• supposed