DDT

After working briefly for a federal entomologist to control the spruce budworm — and spraying DDT from the air — he returned to the Adirondacks in 1946 to be district ranger at Cranberry Lake for 11 years.

2007 January 21, The Associated Press, “Adirondacks Are His Life, All 101 Years and Counting”, in The New York Times:

The use of DDT for disinfectation of louse-infested communities is a primary control measure in epidemic situations.

2007, Wallace Peters, Geoffrey Pasvol, Atlas of tropical medicine and parasitology, page 22:

(organic chemistry) Abbreviation of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (“compound originally developed as an insecticide”)


poison

en-noun

poison (countable and uncountable, plural poisons)

From Middle English poisoun, poyson, poysone, puyson, puisun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtio, pōtiōnis (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“I drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root).
Mostly displaced native Old English ātor (see atter).

der

The temperature effect of poisons. The influence of poison on the catalyst can be different with the change of reaction conditions.

2013, Huazhang Liu, Ammonia Synthesis Catalysts: Innovation and Practice, page 693:

(chemistry) Any substance that inhibits catalytic activity.


GA

General American
General American#English

(England phonology) Abbreviation of General American.


venom

en-noun

venom (countable and uncountable, plural venoms)

From Middle English venym, from Old French venim, from Vulgar Latin *venīmen, from Early Medieval Latin venīnum, from Classical Latin venēnum (“drug; poison; a charm”), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to love”). Doublet of venin and venene.

der

[…] There may be in the cup / A spider steep’d, and one may drink, depart, / And yet partake no venom, for his knowledge / Is not infected...

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

And from the Boughs brush off the evil dew, / And heal the harms of thwarting thunder blew, / Or what the cross dire-looking Planet smites, / Or hurtfull Worm with canker’d venom bites […]

1634, John Milton, “Arcades”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 54:

I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom.

1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter XX, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC:

The serious artist […] [is] obsessed by his material; it’s like a venom working in his blood and the art is the antidote.

1968 August, Truman Capote, interview, Mademoiselle

Venom evolved from saliva and it's used primarily for catching and digesting prey.

2022, Derek Muller, "How Horses Save Humans from Snake Bites", Veritasium, 00:03:20 ff.

An animal toxin intended for defensive or offensive use; a biological poison delivered by bite, sting, etc., to protect an animal or to kill its prey.

helm

an animal toxin intended for offensive use


toxin

From Latin toxicum, equivalent to toxi- + -in.

(strictly) A toxic substance, specifically a poison produced by the biological processes of organisms.


aconite

en-noun

aconite (countable and uncountable, plural aconites)

→ Irish: acainít

From French aconit, from Latin aconītum, from Ancient Greek ἀκόνιτον (akóniton).

Aconitum napellus
Aconitum napellus#Translingual

(toxicology) An extract or tincture obtained from Aconitum napellus, used as a poison and medicinally.


aconitine

aconitine (countable and uncountable, plural aconitines)

(organic chemistry) An intensely poisonous alkaloid, extracted from aconite


(toxicology) The amount of a substance required to kill half of a given population; a measure of toxicity.


thebaine

From Ancient Greek Θῆβαι (Thêbai, “Thebes”)

(toxicology) A poisonous alkaloid, paramorphine, obtained from opium; not used in medicine.


neurotoxin

There were stretches of days when the lakes were closed because of the algae. It sometimes secreted neurotoxins that could be fatal.

2020, Brandon Taylor, Real Life, Daunt Books Originals, page 31:

(neuroscience, toxicology, pharmacology) A toxin that specifically acts upon neurons, their synapses, or the nervous system in its entirety.


9/11 attacks
911 (disambiguation)
Federal Communications Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

Chosen by the United States in the 1960s in place of the older British 999 number as a better way to avoid accidental calls from push-button telephones. It is officially pronounced "nine-one-one," not "nine-eleven," since "nine-eleven" refers to the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. 9/11 is universally distinguished from 911 and usually refers to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Officially written as 9-1-1 in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communications Commission, which is also advocated by some media style guides.

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

When you call 911 in the United States, a local dispatcher usually answers the phone with "911" or "911. What's your emergency?"

The telephone number for emergency services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Liberia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Anguilla, Palau, and Tonga.

emergency services(Australia) 000(Mongolia) 105(China, Iran) 110(New Zealand) 111(European Union) 112(Japan, South Korea) 119(UK, Ireland) 999


cyanide

cyanide (countable and uncountable, plural cyanides)

(inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, countable) Any compound containing the -C≡N group or the CN⁻ anion.

цыяні́д

chemistry: any compound containing the CN group


ricin

It had to be one of three things: A hoax. Or anthrax, which meant I’d have to go on Cipro for a month. Or if it was ricin, I was dead, so bye-bye.

2021 January 24, Donald G. McNeil Jr, “Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(biochemistry, toxicology) An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean.


cyanogen

cyanogen (countable and uncountable, plural cyanogens)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cyanogen.wav

From cyano- + -gen; compare French cyanogène. So called because it produced blue dyes.

(organic chemistry) The pseudohalogen (CN)₂; a colorless, poisonous gas used as a rocket propellant, an insecticide and in chemical warfare.

(inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry) The radical -CN.


Zyklon B

a pesticide consisting of hydrocyanic acid absorbed on pellets of diatomaceous earth; when exposed to the air hydrogen cyanide is released; used most infamously during the Nazi Holocaust in some gas chambers.


antitoxin

Through the needle-hole thus stained with dye it was possible to "superinject" antitoxin, using a slightly wider needle avoid back leak along the old needle track, and thus to ensure a distribution of both toxin and antitoxin solutions from the same point the skin.

1949 August 14, The British Journal of Experimental Pathology 1949-08: Vol 30 Iss 4:

(medicine) A medicine able to neutralize a toxin.

These albuminous substances, whether found as normal products or created artificially in the blood, are distinguished as antitoxins, protective proteïds, vaccines, or alexines; physiologically they have been divided into sozines, those found in animals naturally immune, and phylaxines, those found in animals which by subcutaneous injections have artificially been made immune.

1895, Frantz Peckel Möller, Cod-liver Oil and Chemistry, page 442:

(medicine) An antibody capable of neutralizing specific toxins.


hemlock

hemlock (countable and uncountable, plural hemlocks)

From Middle English hemlok, hemeluc, from Old English hemlīc, hymlīc m and hymlīce f (“hemlock, bryony, convolvulus”), of uncertain origin.
speculative etymology
Compare Old English hymele (“hop-vine, hops”), Old English humele (“bryony, widerton, hair moss, gold-hair, morning glory”), Danish and Swedish humle (“hops”), Icelandic humall (“hops”). Perhaps from Scythian, from Proto-Iranian *háwHmah (“ephedra; juice”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sáwHmas from Proto-Indo-European *sewh₁- (“to press out, extract”).
;cognates
* (from Sarmato-Scythian *haumala) Ossetian хумӕллӕг (xumællæg, “hops”)
* (from Sarmato-Scythian *hauma) Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀 (haoma), Baluchi [script needed] (hum), Persian هوم (hôm))
* (from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma) Sanskrit सोम (soma))
More at suck.

der

The wind blows and the hemlocks wave their feathery leading shoots. Such a graceful profile, so elegant a tree.

2018, Richard Powers, The Overstory, Vintage (2019), page 380:

Any of several coniferous trees, of the genus Tsuga, that grow in North America; the wood of such trees.


atropine

en-noun

atropine (countable and uncountable, plural atropines)

From Latin Atropa (“genus of deadly nightshade”) + -ine.

af

Atropa belladonna
Atropa belladonna#Translingual

(toxicology, pharmacology) An alkaloid extracted from the plant deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and other sources, such as the seeds of the thorn-apple. Though overdoses would be fatal it is used as a drug in medicine for its paralytic effects (e.g. in surgery to relax muscles, in dentistry to dry the mouth, in ophthalmology to dilate the pupils).


deadly nightshade

en-noun

deadly nightshade (plural deadly nightshades)

Deadly nightshade, henbane, hellebore and mandrakes were of evil reputation[.]

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 157:

The plant Atropa belladonna, a perennial shrub of the nightshade family that contains high concentrations of the alkaloid atropine which can be deadly if taken in excess.

ܥܸܢ̈ܒ݂ܲܝ ܚܸܘܝܵܐ (ˁenbay ḥewyā, literally “grapes of the snake”)


nicotine

Borrowed from French nicotine, named after Jean Nicot (1530–1604), French ambassador to Portugal, who sent tobacco seeds back to France in 1561. Etymology of the surname itself is unclear.

He is addicted to nicotine.

(organic chemistry) An alkaloid (C₁₀H₁₄N₂), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant.


MPTP

(neurotoxicology) 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine: a byproduct of synthetic heroin, or MPPP, which causes parkinsonian symptoms in users; and a neurotoxin that degrades into MPP+ after crossing the blood-brain barrier, which causes a degradation of the dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra.


(neurotoxicology) A neurotoxin that cannot cross the blood-brain barrier but which, once in contact, can destroy the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

When you call 999 in the UK, the operator usually answers the phone with "Emergency. Which service?"

The telephone number for emergency services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Burma, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Sudan, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Dominica, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and the Seychelles.

三条九 (saam¹ tiu⁴ gau², literally “triple nine”)

The telephone number for law enforcement in Singapore, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Eswatini, Botswana, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago.


(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, colloquial, metonymically) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.


theriac

theriac (countable and uncountable, plural theriacs)

From Medieval Latin theriacum, from Ancient Greek θηριακὸν (thēriakòn) and Late Latin theriaca, from Ancient Greek θηριακὴ (thēriakḕ, “of or related to poisonous reptiles”), from θηρίον (thēríon, “little beast”) + -κός (-kós), from θήρ (thḗr, “beast”) + -ίον (-íon, diminutive suffix). Doublet of theriaca.

der

This excellent triacle Methridatum is nexte in qualitye and virtue to Theriaca... but onely Theriaca is a little hotter and stronger againste venyme of Snakes.

1558, William Bullein, The Government of Health, fol. 120

Theriaca Andromachi, the Venice or Mithridate treacle...
Theriaca communis, common treacle, or molasses...
Theriaca Londinensis, a cataplasm of cummin seed, bay-berries, germander, snake-root, cloves and honey.

1811, John Quincy et al., Quincy's Lexicon-Medicum..., s.v:

From then on galene became the theriac par excellence, known simply as theriac, and there never was a more successful drug[…] Those who could afford it gulped down a bean-sized lump of theriac for practically everything from the Black Death to nothing at all, as a preventive.

1975, Guido Majno, The Healing Hand, Harvard University Press, page 415:

Theriac was essentially homeopathic in its supposed function, being an improvement on mithridate by virtue of containing more poisons.

(pharmacology, historical) A universal antidote against all poisons, particularly medicines considered to derive from a recipe of the Roman physician Andromachus and representing an improvement on mithridate.

تِرْيَاق

a supposed universal antidote, distinguished from mithridate


teratogen

(teratology) Any agent or substance which can cause malformation of an embryo or birth defects.


strychnine

en-noun

strychnine (usually uncountable, plural strychnines)

From French strychnine, from Greek στρύχνος (strýchnos, “sleepy nightshade”) (or directly from Ancient Greek στρύχνον (strúkhnon)) + -ine.

der

(organic chemistry) A very toxic, colourless crystalline alkaloid, derived from nux vomica, used as a pesticide

strychnin

very toxic, colourless, crystalline alkaloid


aflatoxin

(toxicology) Any of a family of mycotoxins, produced by molds of the Aspergillus genus, that can be toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic; typically found as contaminants of animal food or peanuts.


atter

From Middle English atter, ater, from Old English āttor, ǣttor, ātor (“poison”), from Proto-West Germanic *aitr, from Proto-Germanic *aitrą (“gland, matter”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyd-, *h₂oyd- (“tumor, abscess”), related to Ancient Greek οἶδος (oîdos, “swelling, tumour, abscess, produced by internal action”).
Cognate with Scots attir (“corrupt matter, pus”), Scots atter, etter (“poison, venom”), Shetlandic eter (“poison; bitter cold”), Old Norse eitr, Icelandic eitur (“poison”), Faroese eitur, Norwegian eiter (“venom”), Swedish etter (“poison, venom, virulence”), Danish edder, ædder (“venom”), Saterland Frisian Atter (“pus”), Dutch etter (“pus”), German Eiter (“poison, pus”).

cog

(archaic or UK dialectal) poisonous bodily fluid, especially venom of a venomous animal, such as a snake, dragon or other reptile; corrupt or morbid matter from the body, such as pus from a sore or wound; bitter substance, such as bile

(archaic, figuratively) moral corruption or corruptness; noxious or corrupt influence, poison to the soul, evil, anger, envy, hatred; destruction, death

(UK dialectal) epithelium produced on the tongue


atter

en-verb

atter (third-person singular simple present atters, present participle attering, simple past and past participle attered)

atters (present singular third-person)
attering (participle present)
attered (participle past)
attered (past)

(UK dialectal) to discharge, as a sore; clot; curdle; cake


antivenin

From French antivenin (“antivenom”), from anti- + venin (“venom”), popularized by Albert Calmette & al.'s 1894 work creating serums to treat snakebites. Equivalent to anti- + venin (“venom; biochemical toxin found in certain snakes”). Doublet of antivenom and antivenene.

prefix

(medicine) Synonym of antivenom, (now) particularly for snakebites containing venin.


tetrodotoxin

en-noun

tetrodotoxin (countable and uncountable, plural tetrodotoxins)

From German Tetrodotoxin, corresponding to Tetrodon (tetr- + -odon) + toxin.

Both creatures belong to a large pan-tropical order of fish, many of which have tetrodotoxin in their skin, liver, ovaries, and intestines.

1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 118:

The blue-ringed octopus Hapalochlaena lunulata has tetrodotoxin, the deadly toxin it also releases in a bite, in their ink but the concentrations and effect in inking are not known.

2017 August 9, Mark Carnall, The Guardian:

(neurotoxicology) A neurotoxin, originally discovered in Tetraodontiformes, and found in pufferfish, blue-ringed octopus, etc.


curare

curare (usually uncountable, plural curares)

/kjʊˈɹɑː.ɹi/

From a Cariban language; compare Kari'na urari, Trió urari, wïrari, Akawaio urari, Pemon urari, Macushi urari, referring to various vines of genus Strychnos.

Other South American plants with similar toxins that were also used in arrow poisons, mostly in the family Menispermaceae.


ciguatoxin

(toxicology) Any of several closely related toxins, having a complex structure including a row of thirteen connected heterocyclic rings, produced by algae that are eaten by many fish; causes ciguatera poisoning in humans.


brodifacoum

(toxicology) A highly lethal anticoagulant poison used as a rodenticide.


chlordane

chlordane (countable and uncountable, plural chlordanes)

(organic chemistry) A very toxic chlorinated polycyclic hydrocarbon once used as an insecticide.


A variant of the British 999, originally selected as an appropriate number for rotary-dial telephones and adapted in Australia because of the need to dial an initial 0 from remote exchanges to connect to the main trunk lines.

When you call 000, the Telstra operator usually answers the phone with "Emergency. Police, fire, or ambulance?"

The telephone number for emergency services in Australia.


Selected by the European Union as the 3-digit number fastest to dial on cellular and rotary phones without the likelihood of accidental dialing caused by hanging up a landline telephone, sometimes interpreted by phone networks as a 1.

When you call 112 in the United Kingdom, the call is automatically rerouted to 999 operators.

The telephone number for emergency services on all GSM cell phones and in the EU, Russia, United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, the Seychelles, Uganda, East Timor, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, North Macedonia, Vatican City, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Saint Vincent.


bufadienolide

(biochemistry, toxicology) Any of a class of toxic steroids present in some plants and secreted by some toads through the skin as a defense; sometimes present as a glycoside.


tabun

(organic chemistry, military) An extremely toxic nerve gas; a clear, tasteless liquid, molecular formula C₅H₁₁N₂O₂P.


barium chloride

(inorganic chemistry) The barium salt of hydrochloric acid, BaCl₂; it is toxic, and has been used as a rat poison.


antivenom

antivenom (countable and uncountable, plural antivenoms)

From anti- + venom, q.v. Doublet of antivenin and antivenene.

Most deaths and serious consequences from snakebites are entirely preventable by existing means, including making antivenom much more widely available.

2008, “Poisonings”, in Margie Peden, Kayode Oyegbite, Joan Ozanne-Smith, Adnan A Hyder, Christine Branche, AKM Fazlur Rahman, Frederick Rivara, Kidist Bartolomeos, editors, World Report on Child Injury Prevention, WHO Press, →ISBN, page 129:

So how much venom do you actually need to make antivenom?
About 15.
15 snakes to make one vial of antivenom?

2022, Derek Muller, "How Horses Save Humans from Snake Bites", Veritasium, 00:03:12 ff.

(medicine) A medicine that counteracts venom, an antidote to biological poisons from venomous animals such as snakes and spiders.


neurolysin

(neuroscience, toxicology) A neurotoxin.


batrachotoxin

batrachotoxin (countable and uncountable, plural batrachotoxins)

From Ancient Greek βάτραχος (bátrakhos, “frog”) + toxin.

compound

(neurotoxicology, uncountable) An extremely neurotoxic and cardiotoxic steroidal alkaloid found in poison dart frogs.

(toxicology, countable) Any one of a group of extremely neurotoxic and cardiotoxic steroidal alkaloids found in poison dart frogs, Melyridae beetles, and certain birds.


henbane

en-noun

henbane (countable and uncountable, plural henbanes)

From Middle English henbane, hennebane ( > French hanebane), equivalent to hen + bane. Cognate with Danish hønsebane, Swedish hönsbane. Compare also Old English hennebelle (“henbane”, literally “hen-bell”).

cog

Any other plant of the genus Hyoscyamus.


mithridatization

From mithridatize + -ation, in reference to Mithridates VI of Pontus.


mithridatism

From Mithridates (referring to Mithridates VI of Pontus) + -ism.

The practice of gradually ingesting successively greater amounts of a poison in order to build immunity.

mithridatisation

the practice of ingesting successively greater amounts of a poison


venin

From French venin (“venom”), from Latin venēnum (“juice; venom”). Doublet of venene and venom.

(biochemistry) A toxic substance found in the venom of poisonous snakes.


glyphosate

en-noun

glyphosate (countable and uncountable, plural glyphosates)

Two-thirds of Europeans support a ban on glyphosate, the most widely used agricultural chemical in the world’s history, according to a new Yougov poll.

2016 April 11, Arthur Neslen, “Two-thirds of Europeans support ban on glyphosate - poll”, in The Guardian:

France led the opposition to allowing the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and in weed killers made by other companies.

2017 November 27, Danny Hakim, “Glyphosate, Top-Selling Weed Killer, Wins E.U. Approval for 5 Years”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(organic chemistry) N-phosphonomethyl glycine, the active ingredient of several herbicides that inhibit a plant growth enzyme.


pyrotoxin

(toxicology) Any of several pyrogenic bacterial toxins.


amatoxin

(toxicology) Any of a class of toxic peptides produced by several mushrooms of the genus Amanita and others.

amatoksiini

any of a class of toxic peptides produced by amanitas


brevetoxin

From dinoflagellate species Karenia brevis + toxin.

neurotoxic shellfish poisoning
neurotoxic shellfish poisoning

(organic chemistry, toxicology) Any of a class of complex polycyclic polyethers that cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning


hemotoxin

(chiefly cytology) Any toxin that destroys red blood cells


ochratoxin

(toxicology) Any of a class of mycotoxins, having an isocoumarin structure, produced by some fungi of the genus Aspergillus and others


pectenotoxin

diarrhetic shellfish poisoning
diarrhetic shellfish poisoning

(toxicology) Any of a class of cyclic polyether toxins, produced by dinoflagellates, associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning


dicamba

(organic chemistry) The herbicide 3,6-Dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid used to control weeds in cereal crops


nerve gas

United States Army chemical warfare experts said they believed it was quite possible that a gas corresponding roughly to the description of “nerve gas” might be produced under special conditions, but they had not heard that it could be successfully used in warfare.

1940 May 14, “Nazi ‘New Weapon’ Draws Skepticism”, in New York Times, page 6:

A former Japanese cult guru was sentenced to hang Friday for masterminding a sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo subway trains in 1995.

2004 February 27, George Nishiyama, “Japan Cult Guru to Hang for Sarin Nerve Gas Attack”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2008-10-02:

weapon of mass destruction
weapon of mass destruction

A toxic chemical compound and banned weapon of mass destruction which, when inhaled or ingested, impairs nervous system functions, typically causing extreme physical distress and death by asphyxiation.

عَامِل أَعْصَاب

ʕāmil ʔaʕṣāb


paramorphine

(toxicology) A poisonous alkaloid, also known as thebaine, obtained from opium; not used in medicine; but used as a precursor for the manufacture of some medicines.


carbofuran

(organic chemistry) A highly toxic carbamate pesticide used on field crops.


bendiocarb

(organic chemistry) A highly toxic carbamate insecticide.


mithridate

mithridate (countable and uncountable, plural mithridates)

Mithridates VI of Pontus
Pontus
mithridate

From Middle English mitridate and methridat, from Old French mithridat, from Late Latin mithridatum and mithridatium, from Latin Mithridātīus (“of or related to Mithridates”), from Mithridātēs + -ius, from Ancient Greek Μιθριδάτης (Mithridátēs), the Greek form of the name of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Doublet of mithridatium, mithridatum, and mithridaticon.

metridat

supposed universal antidote against poison

Auicen saythe; There be certeyne medicins... which wyl not suffre poyson to approche nere the harte, as triacle and Metridate.

1528, Joannes de Mediolano, translated by Thomas Paynell, Regimen Sanitatis Salerni, page 33:

After I had thus evacuated the Plethora, and diſpoſed her body for Mercurialls more operative, I gave her each morning and evening a few grains of Mercur. diaphoret. in a bolus with conſ. lujule and Mithridate [...]

1676, Richard Wiseman, “Of Lepra or Elephantiasis”, in Several Chirurgicall Treatises, London: Printed by E. Flesher and J[ohn] Macock, for R[ichard] Royston […], and B[enjamin] Took […], →OCLC, 1st book (A Treatise of Tumours), page 139:

Fools may talk of Mythridate, Cordials, Elixers...

1686, Thomas D'Urfey, Common-wealth of Women, act V, scene ii, line 47:

What he wanted, in effect, was a universal antidote, which medical science has for years referred to as a mithridate.

1990, Harold Leo Klawans, Newton's Madness, page 127:

(historical, pharmacology) Any of various historical medicine, typically an electuary compounded with various poison, believed to derive from Mithridates VI and to serve as a universal antidote.

The contemplation was a mithridate to a pestered conceipted minde.

1587, Angell Day translating Longus as Daphnis and Chloe, sig. C3v

That which maketh me most both to sorrow and wonder, is that musick (a methridat for melancholy) should make him mad.

1592, John Lyly, Midas..., act IV, scene iv, line 47:

(archaic, figuratively, by extension) Synonym of cure.

mithridate mustard
mithridate mustard#English

(obsolete, rare) Ellipsis of mithridate mustard.


coniine

en-noun

coniine (usually uncountable, plural coniines)

From Ancient Greek κώνειον (kṓneion, “hemlock”) + -ine.

der

yellow pitcher plant
yellow pitcher plant

peripheral nervous system
peripheral nervous system

(organic chemistry) A poisonous alkaloid found in poison hemlock and the yellow pitcher plant; it is a neurotoxin which disrupts the peripheral nervous system.


cyclosarin

(organic chemistry, military) Cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate, an extremely toxic nerve gas used as a chemical weapon.


chloralose

en-noun

chloralose (countable and uncountable, plural chloraloses)

(organic chemistry) An avicide and rodenticide, also used in neuroscience and veterinary medicine as an anaesthetic and sedative.


chloroacetanilide

(organic chemistry) An organic compound with formula C₈H₈ClNO, which is the basic form of the herbicide group of the same name.


heptachlor

heptachlor (countable and uncountable, plural heptachlors)

(organic chemistry) An organochlorine compound formerly used as an insecticide.


charybdotoxin

Blend of Charybdis + toxin; along with scyllatoxin in the same scorpion's venom, it references the monsters Scylla and Charybdis of Ancient Greek mythology.

(toxicology) An oligopeptide neurotoxin from the venom of a scorpion of the genus Leiurus.


mithridatize

en-verb

mithridatize (third-person singular simple present mithridatizes, present participle mithridatizing, simple past and past participle mithridatized)

mithridatizes (present singular third-person)
mithridatizing (participle present)
mithridatized (participle past)
mithridatized (past)

/mɪˈθrɪdətʌɪz/

From Mithridates + -ize, in reference to Mithridates VI of Pontus.

Our constitutions adapt themselves to the slow poison of the world till we become mithridatized at last.

Poisonous snakes are... ‘mithridatised’ in regard to their own poison.

1890, E.R. Lankester, The Advancement of Science, page 114:

Her experiences in high school gradually mithridatized her to the ways of men.

(US) To make immune to a poison by administration of gradually increasing doses.

Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridatization
Pontus


antivenene

en-noun

antivenene (countable and uncountable, plural antivenenes)

From anti- + venene (“venom”), from Latin venēnum (“juice; venom”). Doublet of antivenom and antivenin.

His conclusions are that (1) about the same quantity of anti-venene necessary to neutralise the venom in vitro is capable of doing so when the forner is injected into the bloodstream, and the latter sub-cutaneously ;

1898, Royal Microscopical Society (Great Britain), Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, page 623:

What he really means is that the recommended use of anti-venene does not entirely agree with one set of medical opinion.

1973, East African Wild Life Society, World Wildlife Fund, Africana, volume 5, page 5:

Now it became necessary to take venom from captured Taipans, so as to produce anti-venene, and to put it in hospitals right through the danger areas.

1978, Australian Broadcasting Commission, A Big Country: More Stories about the People of Australia, page 13:

(UK and Australia, medicine) Synonym of antivenom.


9-1-1
Federal Communication Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

The official form of the service's name in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communication Commission.


9-1-1 (countable and uncountable, plural 9-1-1s)


antiar

antiar (countable and uncountable, plural antiars)


mithridatic

en-adj

mithridatic (comparative more mithridatic, superlative most mithridatic)

more mithridatic (comparative)
most mithridatic (superlative)

General application of Mithridatic, q.v.

(historical) Of or related to mithridates, universally curative against all poisons.

Of or related to mithridatism, the gradual acquisition of immunity to poison through repeated exposure.


mithridatic

(medicine, archaic) Synonym of antidote: a treatment which functions like a mithridate.


conine

en-noun

conine (countable and uncountable, plural conines)

(organic chemistry) Alternative spelling of coniine


erototoxin

/ɪˌɹɒtəʊˈtɒksɪn/

Judith Reisman of the California Protective Parents Association suggested that more study of "erototoxins" could show how pornography is not speech-protected under the First Amendment.

2004 November 19, Ryan Singel, “Internet Porn: Worse Than Crack?”, in Wired, →ISSN:

As we saw in the previous chapter, pornographic erototoxins always bypass cognition and speech, reaching the right brain instantly to trigger excitatory transmitters and to overcome inhibitory transmitter functions.

2005, Ron Luce, Battle Cry for a Generation: The Fight To Save America's Youth, Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 99:

And the winner is...Sam Brownback, who considered spending more tax money to explore the “addictive,” “mind-altering,” porn poisons that one witness called “erototoxins.”

2005 May/June, Jack Hitt, “The Diddly Award”, in Mother Jones, →ISSN:

There is no such thing as an "erototoxin", of course, but there are pleasure chemicals that are released in the brain called endorphins and they are released in a wide range of activities, including physical exercise, laughter and — surprise, surprise — sex itself.

2005 July 25, Ed Brayton, “Robert O'Brien Trophy Awarded to Judith Reisman”, in Dispatches from the Creation Wars, archived from the original on 2012-03-08:

Not Reisman: erototoxins aren’t about pleasure; they’re a “fear-sex-shame-and-anger stimulant.”

2007 October 1, Mark Pilkington, Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science's Outer Edge, New York: The Disinformation Company, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL:

But there is no good evidence to support the claims of pseudo-experts like Dr Judith Reisman that pornography is what she calls [an] 'erototoxin', producing an addictive drug cocktail of testosterone, oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin, which cause the brain to be ‘structurally’ changed.

2010, Bettina Arndt, What Men Want in Bed, Melbourne University Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 53:

An addictive chemical said to be released in the brain from looking at pornography.


gliotoxin

From the fungi species Gliocladium fimbriatum + toxin.

(toxicology) A mycotoxin, originally isolated from Albifimbria verrucaria (syn. Gliocladium fimbriatum), that causes apoptosis of certain cells.


myotoxin

(biochemistry) Any of a family of small myotoxic peptides present in rattlesnake venom


Calabar bean

From its ancient use in trial by ordeal in the Calabar region of Nigeria.

A seed of a tropical leguminous plant of species Physostigma venenosum of tropical Africa, poisonous to humans.


penicillic acid

(organic chemistry) A particular mycotoxin.


conotoxin

(biochemistry, toxicology) A neurotoxic peptide isolated from the venom of a marine cone snail of genus Conus.


oxidopamine

(neurotoxicology, pharmacology) A neurotoxin used by scientists for selective killing of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons.


bromobenzyl cyanide

(organic chemistry) A lachrymatory agent (aka tear gas) introduced in World War I.


japaconitine

(organic chemistry) A poisonous alkaloid, isolated from aconite, possibly identical to aconitine


aqua Tofana

Named after Giulia Tofana, the woman supposed to have produced it.

Some of the women don’t mention Aqua Tofana specifically but instead show off their “poison rings,” wearable baubles with a hidden compartment supposedly made to hold a lethal dose of a toxin.

2024 November 10, Chris Nesi, “Women furious about Trump’s win start ‘MATGA’ movement — which glorifies poisoning men: ‘They asked for it’”, in New York Post:

One woman in the video leans toward the camera and whispers: "Aqua Tofana, am I right? Aqua Tofana. If you know, you know."

2024 November 11, Emma Marsden, “What Is 'MATGA?' Anti-Trump Women's Deadly New Trend”, in Newsweek:

A strong poison, containing arsenic, said to have been widely used in Naples and Rome in the 17th century.

água-tofana

a strong poison used in 17th century Italy


gifblaar

From Afrikaans gifblaar, a compound of gif (“poison”) and blaar (“leaf”).

(South Africa) Dichapetalum cymosum, a poisonous plant.


bibrotoxin

(toxicology) A toxin derived from the venom of the asp Atractaspis bibronii.


sarafotoxin

From Hebrew שָׂרָף (saráf, “venomous snake”) + toxin.

(toxicology) Any of a class of toxins derived from the venom of the snake Atractaspis engaddensis.


endothall

(organic chemistry) A herbicide with chemical formula C₈H₁₀O₅.


karlotoxin

Exposure of gill cells to algal extracts, brevetoxins and PST toxins was for 2 hrs, and to karlotoxin for 2, 3, 4 and 5 hrs.

2015 July 22, “Progress in Understanding Algal Bloom-Mediated Fish Kills: The Role of Superoxide Radicals, Phycotoxins and Fatty Acids”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

(toxicology) Any of a class of amphipathic toxins isolated from Karlodinium veneficum


apitoxin

(toxicology) The venom found in a honey bee's sting.


phaseolotoxin

From Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola + toxin.

(toxicology) A toxin, produced by halo blight pathogen, that causes systemic chlorosis.


cangitoxin

From sea anemone species Bunodosoma cangicum + toxin.

(toxicology) A neurotoxin found in the venom of the sea anemone Bunodosoma cangicum.


phototoxin

(medicine, toxicology) Any toxin that causes an allergic reaction in the skin, developing into photosensitivity.


hefutoxin

Blended form of the acronym derived from (He)terometrus (fu)lvipes, + toxin

(toxicology) A neurotoxin in the venom created by the Asian black forest scorpion.


maurotoxin

From the scorpion species Scorpio maurus palmatus + toxin.

(toxicology) A neurotoxin created by the Tunisian large-clawed scorpion.


necrotoxin

(toxicology) Any toxin that causes necrosis.


scyllatoxin

Blend of Scylla + toxin; along with charybdotoxin in the same scorpion's venom, it references the monsters Scylla and Charybdis of Ancient Greek mythology.

(toxicology) An oligopeptide neurotoxin from the venom of a scorpion of the genus Leiurus.


The telephone number for COVID-19 emergencies in the United Kingdom's Home Counties.


Like 911, 119, etc., selected as a number both fast and easy to call from rotary or touch-tone phones and less likely to be mistakenly dialed.

110 handles police emergencies in Japan and Korea but fires and medical emergencies have a separate number, 119.

The telephone number for law enforcement in China, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Latvia, Bolivia, Guatamala, Andorra, Nauru, and the Ivory Coast and on Taiwan.


mithridatically

We do not, for instance, treat diphtheria mithridatically, or according to the Jenner-Pasteur method.

1906, “Professor von Behring's Treatment of Tuberculosis”, in The Medical Bulletin: A Monthly Journal of Medicine and Surgery, page 413:

Moreover, his violence is not only a method of making art, but also a way of indicating the perverse self-destructiveness of art-making while warding it off through mithridatically indulging in it: as the previously mentioned title suggests, Nagel is acutely aware that he is exposing, objectifying, even reifying his moods, threatening not only his privacy but the very quality of his inner life.

1990, Donald Burton Kuspit, Andrés Nagel: an irreverent approach, page 1966:

There is much in traditional nudism to suggest that, so far from being erotically driven, it is actually puritanical in tendency, being an attempt, mithridatically as it were, to immunize oneself against (“irrational”) sexual desire by outfacing its normal visual stimuli.

2012, Paul Franco, A Companion to Michael Oakeshott:

In a mithridatic manner, gradually increasing doses of a poison or (figurative) other pernicious thing so as to build resistance or immunity.


rat poison

rat poison (countable and uncountable, plural rat poisons)

Poison used to kill rats and other rodents.


Arizona perfume

(US, slang, dated) The poison gas used for execution in a gas chamber.


destruxin

(toxicology) Any of a group of mycotoxins found in Metarhizium anisopliae


cereolysin

Bacillus cereus
Bacillus cereus#Translingual

(toxicology) A haemolytic toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus.


calatoxin

Any of a group of toxic cardiac glycosides present in plants of the genus Calotropis


mithridaticon

From Ancient Greek Μιθριδατικόν (Mithridatikón, “Mithridatic”), from Μιθριδάτης (Mithridátēs) + -ικός (-ikós), the Greek form of the name of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Doublet of mithridate, mithridatium, and mithridatum.

bor

Μιθριδατικόν

doublet

(historical medicine, rare, obsolete) Synonym of mithridate.


mithridatum

From Late Latin mithridatum, variant of mithridatium, from Latin Mithridātīus (“of or related to Mithridates”), from Mithridātēs + -ius, from Ancient Greek Μιθριδάτης (Mithridátēs), the Greek form of the name of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Doublet of mithridate, mithridatium, and mithridaticon.

Medle them all with metridatum.

The plague had returned to London with uncommon virulence... Huge quantities of mithridatum and dragon-water were drunk for prophylactics.

1931, E. Linklater, Ben Jonson & King James, page 119:

Theriac—like mithridatum—was an elaborate compound of vipers and botanicals.

(historical medicine) Synonym of mithridate.


mithridatium

en-noun

mithridatium (plural mithridatiums or mithridatia)

mithridatiums (plural)
mithridatia (plural)

/ˌmɪθrɪˈdeɪtɪəm/

From Late Latin mithridatium, from Latin Mithridātīus (“of or related to Mithridates”), from Mithridātēs + -ius, from Ancient Greek Μιθριδάτης (Mithridátēs), the Greek form of the name of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Doublet of mithridate, mithridatum, and mithridaticon.

doublet

...putting into it Saccharum Buglossatum or triacle, or Mithridatium...

1559, Conrad Gesner, translated by Peter Morwyng, The Treasure of Euonymus, page 332:

Until as late as 1786, the London physician could officially prescribe the Venice treacle or Mithradatium, a remedy that contained as many as 65 ingredients including the dried flesh of vipers.

A number of theriacs and mithridatia appear in the writings of ancient doctors, but it is rare to find an account of how one of them was used and the effect it had.

2010, Richard Swiderski, Poison Eaters, page 54:


mithridate treacle

(historical medicine, obsolete) Synonym of mithridate.


A variant of the British 999, originally selected as an appropriate number for rotary-dial telephones and adapted in New Zealand because the formatting on its pulse-dial system made 1 equivalent to 9 as processed by its British-made telecommunications equipment.

When you call 111 in New Zealand, the Spark operator usually answers the phone with "111 Emergency. Do you require fire, ambulance, or police?"

The telephone number for emergency services in New Zealand and Nauru.


The telephone number for emergency services in Mongolia.


caritoxin

(biochemistry) Either of two amino acid toxins produced by the sea anemone species, Actinia cari.