barbital

[ bahr-bi-tawl, -tal ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a barbiturate compound, C 7 O 3 N 2 H 12 , formerly used as a hypnotic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of barbital¹

1915–20; barbit(uric acid) + ( Veron ) al, the name of a formerly used sedative and hypnotic

Example Sentences

The first barbiturate — barbitone, or barbital — hit the market in 1904 after its power to send dogs to sleep was discovered.

From Nature

A woman, who had taken morphine and barbital, was found apparently dead after a night's exposure in some lonely spot.

From Project Gutenberg