aperient

[ uh-peer-ee-uhnt ]

adjective

1. having a mild purgative or laxative effect.

noun

1. a medicine or food that acts as a mild laxative.

aperient

/ əˈpɪərɪənt /

adjective

1. laxative

noun

1. a mild laxative

Word History and Origins

Origin of aperient¹

1620–30; < Latin aperient- (stem of aperiēns opening, present participle of aperīre to open), equivalent to aperi- (apparently ap- , variant of ab- ab- + -eri- ) + -ent- -ent; the base -eri-, perhaps with an earlier shape *wery- or *twery-, occurs only in this verb and operīre to close ( cover, operculum )

Word History and Origins

Origin of aperient¹

C17: from Latin aperīre to open

Example Sentences

An old-fashioned piece of advice in distemper, and one always given, was that at the outset of the disease a dose of castor oil, or some other aperient, should be administered.

From Project Gutenberg

A mild tonic, as well as an aperient, is plainly indicated soon after the commencement of rot.

From Project Gutenberg

I have generally given it in lemonade in such amounts as to secure a gentle aperient and diuretic effect.

From Project Gutenberg

Sapodilla, sap-ō-dil′a, n. a name given in the West Indies to the fruit of several species of Achras, the seeds aperient and diuretic, the pulp subacid and sweet.

From Project Gutenberg

In medicine it is employed as an aperient, and is one of the safest and most innocuous known.

From Project Gutenberg