Word.ws English Dictionary

alkermes

UK/alˈkəːmɪz/

alkermes noun: the desiccated bodies of certain insects (female Kermes ilicis and Kermes vermilio), which live on the kermes oak, formerly much used as a material for dye and a medicinal ingredient; also a given mixture, preparation etc. containing such insects.

Noun

alkermes (uncountable)

  1. The desiccated bodies of certain insects (female Kermes ilicis and Kermes vermilio), which live on the kermes oak, formerly much used as a material for dye and a medicinal ingredient; also a given mixture, preparation etc. containing such insects.
    • But alkermes many except against: in some cases it may help, if it be good […]1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II...
  2. A red Italian alcoholic liqueur.

Origin of alkermes

From Middle French alkermès, probably from Spanish alquermes, from Arabic الْقِرْمِز (al-qirmiz), from Classical Persian کرمست (kirmist), from Middle Persian, from Sanskrit [Term?].

Questions about alkermes

What does alkermes mean?
Alkermes means the desiccated bodies of certain insects (female Kermes ilicis and Kermes vermilio), which live on the kermes oak, formerly much used as a material for dye and a medicinal ingredient; also a given mixture, preparation etc. containing such insects.
What part of speech is alkermes?
Alkermes is a noun.
How do you pronounce alkermes?
Alkermes is pronounced /alˈkəːmɪz/ (UK).

Words near alkermes in the dictionary

  1. alkenyloxindoles
  2. alkenyls
  3. alkenylzirconocene
  4. alkenylzirconocenes
  5. alkenyne
  6. alkermes
  7. Alkham
  8. Alkhatib
  9. Alkhatibs
  10. alkide
  11. alkides

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: alkermes (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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