Cyclidine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A synthetic anticholinergic drug that blocks certain nerve signals and has been used to ease muscle spasms and tremors
2. A pharmaceutical compound that acts as a muscarinic antagonist, once prescribed to relieve Parkinsonian symptoms and spasms
3. An antispasmodic medication belonging to the anticholinergic class, used to reduce involuntary muscle activity and tremor

Etymology: Cyclidine is a pharmaceutical coinage, built from chemical name parts rather than from a word that existed before the drug. Its first half, "cyclo-", comes from the Greek "kyklos", meaning "circle" or "ring", and refers to the ring of atoms in the molecule's structure. Chemists use this prefix for ring-shaped compounds in general. The ending, "-idine", is more unusual. It was taken from "pyridine", the name of a nitrogen-containing ring compound. Pyridine's own name combines the Greek "pyr", meaning "fire", with a suffix, because the compound was first obtained by heating bone oil. Chemists then used "-idine" as a standard ending for related nitrogen-containing compounds, so the drug's name carries a fragment of a fire-related word, even though nothing about the drug involves heat.