roborant

[ rob-er-uhnt ]

adjective

1. strengthening.

noun

1. a tonic.

roborant

/ ˈrəʊbərənt; ˈrɒb- /

adjective

1. tending to fortify or increase strength

noun

1. a drug or agent that increases strength

Word History and Origins

Origin of roborant¹

1655–65; < Latin rōborant- (stem of rōborāns ), present participle of rōborāre to strengthen, equivalent to rōbor- (stem of rōbur ) oak, hardness + -ant- -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of roborant¹

C17: from Latin roborāre to strengthen, from rōbur an oak

Example Sentences

Cultural critics who consider the Japanese unmoored in a materialist world look to the mountains for a roborant spiritual cure.

From Economist

As long ago as in the seventeenth century depletion in diphtheria was condemned, and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the local treatment with muriatic acid and the internal administration of cinchona, camphor, and roborant diet were held to be the only admissible ones.

From Project Gutenberg

Roborant, rob′or-ant, adj. giving strength.—n. a strengthening medicine.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

And the Bath strengthens and tones the nervous system far more than any tonic we wot of, moreover its constant use makes the work which the liver and spleen have to perform, mere play, so to speak; and if the Bath invigorates muscle—and we know it does—it must act as a roborant or tonic to the heart itself, which is composed for the most part of muscular tissues.

From Project Gutenberg

Apodeictic, muliebrity, mansuetude, even caducity, caliginosity, nitid, agrestic, roborant or vilipend have Latin or Greek roots that are very familiar to me and most high school graduates.

From Time Magazine Archive