vomica : Idioms & Phrases

Index

nux vomica

  • noun a medicine made from the seeds of an Asiatic tree; contains strychnine and brucine; formerly used as a stimulant
WordNet
Nux` vom"i*ca
Etymology
NL., fr. L. nux nut + vomere to vomit.
Definitions
  1. The seed of Strychnos Nuxvomica, a tree which abounds on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts of the East Indies. From this seed the deadly poisons known as strychnine and brucine are obtained. The seeds are sometimes called Quaker buttons.
Webster 1913