opium

[ oh-pee-uhm ]
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noun
  1. the dried, condensed juice of a poppy, Papaver somniferum, that has a narcotic, soporific, analgesic, and astringent effect and contains morphine, codeine, papaverine, and other alkaloids used in medicine in their isolated or derived forms: a narcotic substance, poisonous in large doses.

  2. anything that causes dullness or inaction or that soothes the mind or emotions.

Origin of opium

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Latin <Greek ópion poppy juice, equivalent to op(ós) sap, juice + -ion diminutive suffix

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British Dictionary definitions for opium

opium

/ (ˈəʊpɪəm) /


noun
  1. the dried juice extracted from the unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy that contains alkaloids such as morphine and codeine: used in medicine as an analgesic

  2. something having a tranquillizing or stupefying effect

Origin of opium

1
C14: from Latin: poppy juice, from Greek opion, diminutive of opos juice of a plant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for opium

opium

[ ōpē-əm ]


  1. A highly addictive, yellowish-brown drug obtained from the pods of a variety of poppy, from which other drugs, such as morphine, are prepared.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for opium

opium

A highly addictive drug obtained from the poppy plant. Several other drugs, such as morphine and codeine, are derived from opium.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.