patent medicine

noun

1. a medicine sold without a prescription in drugstores or by sales representatives, and usually protected by a trademark.
2. a medicine distributed by a company having a patent on its manufacture.

patent medicine

noun

1. a medicine protected by a patent and available without a doctor's prescription

Word History and Origins

Origin of patent medicine¹

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

Kola nuts circulated through Europe and the Americas but did not find a widespread audience until the 19th century, when the craze for patent medicines encouraged entrepreneurs to bottle vigor wherever it could be found.

From Seattle Times

Popular since the 1840s, root beer, which, like so many of America’s sodas, straddled the line between patent medicine and soothing nonalcoholic libation, was enjoyed as a hot beverage or as a carbonated soda.

From Seattle Times

Decades ago, people could hawk dangerous patent medicines and promise benefits — even when their concoctions might have catastrophic consequences.

From Washington Post

As one may expect, sketchy patent medicines and doctor-prescribed Prohibition whiskey are also in the mix.

From New York Times

Most of these nonalcoholic spirits are unsweetened or only very lightly sweetened, making them taste more like old-fashioned patent medicine than beverages.

From Seattle Times