alexipharmacum means something which protects against, or cures, a poison; an antidote. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “alexipharmacum” is a great word
ALEXIPHARMACUM — [Noun] A formal term for a remedy that counteracts or wards off poison. From Latin alexipharmacum, from Ancient Greek ἀλεξιφάρμακον (alexiphármakon), from ἀλέξειν (aléxein, "to ward off, defend") + φάρμακον (phármakon, "drug, poison"). Unlike "antidote," a general modern counteragent, or "prophylactic," a preventative measure, an alexipharmacum is a curative bulwark raised against an already-present threat. It is the crushed bezoar stone set in gold, the bitter draft of theriac simmered for forty days, the precise serum drawn up in a glass vial—the fragile, learned hope that for every venom, the world contains its own undoing.
Etymology
From Latin alexipharmacum, from Ancient Greek ἀλεξιφάρμακον (alexiphármakon).
noun
- Something which protects against, or cures, a poison; an antidote.“he calls steel the proper alexipharmacum of this malady, and much magnifies it […].”