Gleevec

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A pharmaceutical medication used primarily to treat certain types of cancer by inhibiting specific enzymes involved in cancer cell growth; a targeted therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors; a brand name drug containing imatinib
2. A prescription drug designed to combat cancer cells by blocking proteins that promote tumor development; employed in the treatment of specific blood and digestive system cancers; a commercial name for a tyrosine kinase inhibitor
3. A specialized cancer treatment medication that acts by preventing abnormal cell proliferation through enzyme inhibition; commonly administered for leukemia and soft tissue tumors of the digestive tract; a proprietary pharmaceutical formulation known as imatinib mesylate

Etymology: Gleevec is a brand name, not an ordinary English word, and it was coined by the Swiss drug company Novartis for the compound imatinib. The name was built by its makers to sound smooth and memorable, and it has no older history in any language. Its generic name, imatinib, is the more systematic of the two, and the mesylate part of the formal name refers to the methanesulfonic acid salt in which the drug is supplied. The name works by blending sounds that suggest the drug's purpose. Its first syllables echo words like "glee" and "gleam," which were chosen to give a cheerful, reassuring tone for a medicine that treats serious illness. The ending "-vec" follows the pattern pharmaceutical companies often use for brand names, so the word reads as a product rather than a common term.