minorative

/ˈmaɪnəɹeɪtɪv/

Etymology

From the late-Middle French minoratif, minorative (“that diminishes or lessens”, of a medicine “mildly laxative”; as a noun “a mild laxative”), from minorer (“to diminish the importance [of]”). Equivalent to minorate (“diminish”, “lessen”) + -ive. Compare the post-Classical (i.e. 9th C.) Latin minōrātīvus.

adj

  1. That diminishes or attenuates
  2. Gently laxative.“Clysters sometymes do supplye the rowme of minoratyve medicines.”

noun

  1. A gently laxative medicine.“When […] wee feare lest nature faint before perfect concoction, we may sometimes use a gentle minorative.”