laudanum
/ˈlɔːdənəm/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
obsolete/ˈlɒdənəm/
laudanum noun: any of several tinctures of opium, once widely used for various medical purposes and as a recreational drug.
Noun
laudanum (usually uncountable, plural laudanums)
- Any of several tinctures of opium, once widely used for various medical purposes and as a recreational drug.
- Ever since my recovery from the fever I had been in the custom of taking every night a small quantity of laudanum; for it was by means of this drug only that I was enabled to gain the rest necessary for the preservation of life.1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter 4, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding...
- Whatever else was wanting to a wise man's happiness, —of laudanum I would have given him as much as he wished, and in a golden cup.1821 September–October, [Thomas De Quincey], “[Part II.] Introduction to the Pains of Opium.”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, 2nd edition, London: […] [J. Moyes] for Taylor and Hessey...
Verb
laudanum (third-person singular simple present laudanums, present participle laudanuming, simple past and past participle laudanumed)
- To add laudanum to (a drink or the like).
- To cause (a person) to be high on laudanum.
laudanum meaning in Tamil and Tagalog
laudanum in Tamil
- ஓப்பியம் சாறு, கஞ்சாகுல்லை, குல்லையம்
laudanum in Tagalog
- the tincture of opium once widely used
- lawdano
Examples of laudanum in a sentence
- Whipping and abuse are like laudanum; you have to double the dose as the sensibilities decline.1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter XX, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume (please specify |volume=I...
- Laudanum, a derivative of opium, was the name given to a secret remedy concocted by the occultist Paracelsus, in the sixteenth century.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 171:
- In Sydenham’s 1683 treatise on the disease, for the sudden onset of violent symptoms he recommended laudanum — a tincture of opium and alcohol — to take the edge off the pain; […]2020 November 13, Ligaya Mishan, “Once the Disease of Gluttonous Aristocrats, Gout Is Now Tormenting the Masses”, in The New York Times...
Forms of laudanum
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | laudanums |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | laudanums |
| present participle | laudanuming |
| past participle | laudanumed |
| past | laudanumed |
Origin of laudanum
From New Latin, from lādanum (“a gum resin”), from Ancient Greek λᾱ́δανον (lā́danon). Originally the same word as ladanum, labdanum, compare French laudanum, Italian laudano, ladano. Perhaps influenced by Latin laudō (“to praise”). See ladanum. Used by Paracelsus to refer to ladanum gum, and to a compound recipe containing pearls, but apparently not to any preparation of opium; this modern sense was introduced by his followers (Sigerist 1941:540–1).
Words formed from laudanum
Questions about laudanum
- What does laudanum mean?
- Laudanum means any of several tinctures of opium, once widely used for various medical purposes and as a recreational drug.
- What is laudanum in Tamil?
- Laudanum in Tamil is ஓப்பியம் சாறு, கஞ்சாகுல்லை, குல்லையம். See Laudanum meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use laudanum in a sentence?
- Whipping and abuse are like laudanum; you have to double the dose as the sensibilities decline.
- What part of speech is laudanum?
- Laudanum can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce laudanum?
- Laudanum is pronounced /ˈlɔːdənəm/.
- What is the plural of laudanum?
- The plural of laudanum is laudanums.
Words near laudanum in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: laudanum (page history and authors); laudanum (Tamil Wiktionary) (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-laudanum.wav.
Cite this entry: “laudanum.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/laudanum. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.