catholicon means an early Latin dictionary, the Summa grammaticalis quae vocatur Catholicon.
catholicon is pronounced /kəˈθɒlɪkɒn/.
Why “catholicon” is a great word
A supposed universal remedy or panacea for all diseases or problems. From Late Middle English, via Medieval Latin, from Ancient Greek καθολικόν (katholikón, neuter of καθολικός (katholikós), "universal, general"). Unlike a nostrum, which is often a quack remedy or dubious pet scheme, or an elixir, a specific medicinal or alchemical potion, a catholicon is the grand, abstract ideal of a singular solution. It is the siren song of a single policy to mend a fractured society, the dream of a single pill to cure the body's every betrayal, the forlorn hope for one key that might unlock every door. The catholicon persists in the imagination precisely because it cannot exist: each cure it promises would require the world to be simpler than it is.
Etymology
Late Middle English, via Medieval Latin from Ancient Greek καθολικόν (katholikón, “that which is universal”), the neuter substantive form of καθολικός (katholikós).
name
- an early Latin dictionary, the Summa grammaticalis quae vocatur Catholicon
noun
- A supposed universal remedy.
- A large urban church used for large gatherings.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- panacea 87% match — A remedy believed to cure all disease and prolong life that was originally sought by alchemists; a cure-all. vs catholicon →
- panpharmacon 86% match — A medicine for all diseases; a panacea, a cure-all vs catholicon →
- nostrum 84% match — A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects. vs catholicon →
- theriac 83% match — A universal antidote against all poisons, particularly medicines considered to derive from a recipe of the Roman physician Andromachus and representing an improvement on mithridate. vs catholicon →
- catholic 82% match — Universal; all-encompassing. vs catholicon →
- elixir 82% match — A liquid which converts lead to gold. vs catholicon →
- panchreston 82% match — An explanation that is used in so many different cases that it becomes almost meaningless. vs catholicon →
- catholicity 82% match — The quality of being catholic, universal or inclusive. vs catholicon →