Emetic

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈmɛt.ɪk/

Definitions

1. A substance that induces vomiting when ingested or administered
2. A compound that causes the body to expel its stomach contents as a means of treatment or detoxification
3. A drug or agent that triggers vomiting to clear the stomach of contents

Etymology: The Greek physicians who first used this word were describing something very literal: "emetikos" comes from "emetos," the Greek word for vomit, and the adjective simply meant "causing vomiting." The Greek root is tied to the verb "emein," to vomit, which is why the medical sense has stayed so direct for more than two thousand years. The word reached English through French "émétique," which passed through Vulgar Latin "emeticus" on its way from Greek. Its path into English was therefore less direct than its Greek ancestry suggests, since it arrived via the French medical vocabulary that often served as a channel for classical terms. The noun and adjective forms both trace back to that same vomiting sense, so a substance that makes you sick and a description of that substance share one root. The word has kept its physical meaning intact across every language it has passed through, with no drift toward the abstract.

Synonyms: nauseant, vomitive