Dextroamphetamines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Stimulant drugs that increase alertness and energy and are prescribed for conditions such as attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy
2. Central nervous system stimulants, the dextro isomer of amphetamine, used to treat attention problems and excessive sleepiness
3. Powerful psychoactive compounds in the amphetamine family that heighten wakefulness and focus and are used medically for hyperactivity

Etymology: Dextroamphetamine is a modern scientific coinage, built from two older pieces. "Dextro-" comes from Latin "dexter," meaning "right" (as in right-handed), and in chemistry it marks a molecule that rotates light to the right. "Amphetamine" is itself a made-up name, assembled from "alpha-methylphenethylamine," a chain of chemical labels: "alpha" from the Greek letter, "methyl" from the Greek "methu" (wine) and "hyle" (wood), "phenethyl" from the phenyl group, and "amine," a nitrogen compound named after the Egyptian god Ammon, whose sanctuary was linked to ammonia salts. The chain of coinages reflects how chemists named molecules in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: they borrowed classical roots to label each structural piece, so the name of a drug records its molecular architecture. The "dextro-" prefix distinguishes one mirror-image form of the molecule from its left-handed counterpart, which is why the two forms can have different effects in the body.

Synonyms: dexamphetamine