A.Word.A.Day -- alexiteric

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Aug 30, 2005

This week's theme
Words related to medicine

This week's words
rhinorrhea
alexiteric
atretic
fomites
styptic

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alexiteric (uh-LEK-si-TER-ik) adjective

Counteracting the effects of poison; warding off contagion.

noun

An antidote against poison; preventive against contagion.

[From Medieval Latin alexiterium (remedy), from Greek alexein (to ward off).]

"Frantz Fanon goes on to describe, '...poisons for which there is no known alexiteric.'"
David Macey; Frantz Fanon: A Biography; Picador; 2001.

It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry. -Thomas Paine, philosopher and writer (1737-1809)

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