ipecac
/ˈɪp.ɪ.kæk/
ipecac noun: the dried rhizome and roots of either of two tropical American plants (Cephaelis acuminata and Cephaelis ipecacuanha) of the madder family used especially as a source of emetine.
Noun
ipecac (countable and uncountable, plural ipecacs)
- The dried rhizome and roots of either of two tropical American plants (Cephaelis acuminata and Cephaelis ipecacuanha) of the madder family used especially as a source of emetine.
- An emetic and expectorant drug that contains emetine and is prepared from ipecac especially as a syrup for use in treating accidental poisoning.
- Mary Reynolds could list her physician-owner's entire materia medica (the common term for pharmacological supplies) for slaves in one breathː "Dr. Kilpatrick gave sick [slaves] ipecac and asafoetide and oil and turpentine and black fever pills.2008, Harriet A. Washington, “Southern Discomfort”, in Medical Apartheid, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, page 66
- Synonyms:
- syrup of ipecac
- The shrub that produces ipecac (Cephaelis ipecacuanha), native to Brazil and cultivated elsewhere.
Synonyms of ipecac
Forms of ipecac
| plural | ipecacs |
|---|---|
| alternative form | ipecacuanha |
Origin of ipecac
Contraction of ipecacuanha, from Portuguese ipecacuanha, from Old Tupi ypekakûãîa, from ypeka (“duck”) + akûãîa (“penis”).
Phrases with ipecac
Questions about ipecac
- What does ipecac mean?
- Ipecac means the dried rhizome and roots of either of two tropical American plants (Cephaelis acuminata and Cephaelis ipecacuanha) of the madder family used especially as a source of emetine.
- What part of speech is ipecac?
- Ipecac is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ipecac?
- Ipecac is pronounced /ˈɪp.ɪ.kæk/.
- What is the plural of ipecac?
- The plural of ipecac is ipecacs.
Words near ipecac in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ipecac (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.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “ipecac.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ipecac. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.