theriac · adj — synonym of theriacal: of or related to theriac. It carries an Arena rating of 1374, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, theriac ranks #1,434 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,812 of 17,129 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,698 of 17,177 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,079 of 17,205 for The Improbable.
theriac is pronounced /ˈθɪriˌæk/.
Why “theriac” is a great word
A medicinal compound once believed to be a universal antidote to poisons, especially one containing viper's flesh. From Medieval Latin theriacum, from Late Latin theriaca, from Ancient Greek θηριακή (thēriakḗ, "[antidote] related to wild beasts"), from θηρίον (thēríon, "wild beast, venomous animal") + -κός (-kós, adjectival suffix). Unlike a panacea—a general, often figurative cure-all—or a mithridate—an earlier, simpler prototype—theriac was a specific, elaborate historical formulation, credited to the physician Andromachus. It is the scent of crushed herbs and decay in an apothecary's mortar, the dark, viscous gleam in a porcelain jar, and the desperate faith in a sovereign remedy against a world of hidden venoms—the medieval mind’s attempt to bottle its own fragility.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Medieval Latin theriacum, from Ancient Greek θηριακὸν (thēriakòn) and Late Latin theriaca, from Ancient Greek θηριακὴ (thēriakḕ, “of or related to poisonous reptiles”), from θηρίον (thēríon, “little beast”) + -κός (-kós), from θήρ (thḗr, “beast”) + -ίον (-íon, diminutive suffix). Doublet of theriaca.
adj
- Synonym of theriacal: of or related to theriac.
- Synonym of medicinal.
noun
- 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.e.g.“This excellent triacle Methridatum is nexte in qualitye and virtue to Theriaca... but onely Theriaca is a little hotter and stronger againste venyme of Snakes.” — 1558, William Bullein, The Government of Health, fol. 120
- A hyponym of panacea.
- Synonym of antidote, particularly (pseudoscience) those incorporating snakemeat to cure snakebite.e.g.“...ane half vnce of guid auld theriac...” — 1568, Gilbert Skeyne, chapter 7, in Ane Breue Descriptioun of the Pest:
- Synonym of molasses.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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