different between elixir vs panacea

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin elixir, from Arabic ????????????? (al-?iks?r), from Ancient Greek ?????? (x?ríon, “medicinal powder”), from ????? (x?rós, “dry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l?ks?(?)/, /?-/, /-??(?)/
• Rhymes: -?ks?(?)

Noun

elixir (plural elixirs)

1. (alchemy) A liquid which converts lead to gold.
   • 2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2004, p. 59:

     For Chinese alchemists, gold held the key to the Elixir, the Eastern equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone.

2. (alchemy) A substance or liquid which is believed to cure all ills and give eternal life.
3. (by extension) The alleged cure for all ailments; cure-all, panacea.
   • 2015, The Boston Globe, Steven Pinker, The moral imperative for bioethics:

     The silver-bullet cancer cures of yesterday’s newsmagazine covers, like interferon and angiogenesis inhibitors, disappointed the breathless expectations, as have elixirs such as antioxidants, Vioxx, and hormone replacement therapy.

4. (pharmacy) A sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste.
   • 1906, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association (volume 47, pages 872-875)

     The subcommittee's report to the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry shows that the action of somnos is practically identical with that of a 5 per cent elixir of hydrated chloral.

Derived terms

• elixir of life

Translations

Asturian

Verb

elixir

1. to choose
2. to elect

Synonyms

• escoyer

Dutch

Etymology

From Medieval Latin elixir, from Arabic ????????????? (al-?iks?r), from Ancient Greek ?????? (x?ríon, “medicinal powder”), from ????? (x?rós, “dry”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e??l?k.s?r/, /?e??l?k.s?r/
• Hyphenation: elixir

Noun

elixir n (plural elixirs, diminutive elixirtje n)

1. Alternative form of elixer

Derived terms

• maagelixir

Galician

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin eligo. Doublet of esleer.

Compare Portuguese eleger and Spanish elegir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?.li.??i?]

Verb

elixir (first-person singular present elixo, first-person singular preterite elixín, past participle elixido)

1. to choose, elect
   • 1418, Á. Rodríguez González (ed.), Libro do Concello de Santiago (1416-1422). Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 85:

     para que dos ditos dose omes o dito señor arçobispo o a quel que seu poder para elo touvese tomase et eligise dous deles que os lle aprovuese et os dese por alcalles enna dita çidade en quel anno

     so that of that twelve men said lord archbishop, or anyone who his power has at the momment, takes and chooses two of them, and that he approves and gives them as mayors of said city for that year

   Synonym: escoller

Conjugation

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin elixir, from Arabic ????????????? (al-?iks?r), from Ancient Greek ?????? (x?ríon, “medicinal powder”), from ????? (x?rós, “dry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?.lik.?si?]

Noun

elixir m (plural elixires)

1. elixir

References

• “eligir” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
• “elig” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• “elexir” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• “elixir” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “elixir” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Portuguese

Noun

elixir m (plural elixires)

1. (alchemy) elixir (liquid which was believed to turn non-precious metals to gold)
2. (fiction) a magical potion

Romanian

Etymology

From French élixir

Noun

elixir n (plural elixire)

1. elixir

Declension

Spanish

Noun

elixir m (plural elixires)

1. Alternative spelling of elíxir

English

Alternative forms

• panacaea
• panacæa

Etymology

From Latin panac?a, from Ancient Greek ???????? (panákeia), from ??????? (panak?s, “all-healing”), from ??? (pân, “all”) (equivalent to English pan-) + ???? (ákos, “cure”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) enPR: p?n"?-s?'?, IPA^(key): /?pæn.??si?.?/
• Rhymes: -i??

Noun

panacea (plural panaceas or panaceae or panaceæ)

1. A remedy believed to cure all disease and prolong life that was originally sought by alchemists; a cure-all.

   Synonym: heal-all

2. Something that will solve all problems.

   A monorail will be a panacea for our traffic woes.

3. (obsolete) The plant allheal (Valeriana officinalis), believed to cure all ills.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.v:

     There, whether it diuine Tobacco were, / Or Panachæa, or Polygony, / She found, and brought it to her patient deare […]

Synonyms

• (remedy to cure all disease): catholicon, cure-all, elixir, wonder drug
• (solution to all problems): miracle, magic bullet, silver bullet
• (plant): allheal, woundwort

Translations

See also

• nostrum

Italian

Etymology

From Latin panac?a, from Ancient Greek ???????? (panákeia), from ??????? (panak?s, “all-healing”), from ??? (pân, “all”) + ???? (ákos, “cure”).

Noun

panacea f (plural panacee)

1. panacea, cure-all

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ???????? (panákeia) from ??????? (panak?s, “all-healing”), from ??? (pân, “all”) + ???? (ákos, “cure”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /pa.na?ke?.a/, [pänä?ke?ä]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /pa.na?t??e.a/, [p?n??t?????]

Noun

panac?a f (genitive panac?ae); first declension

1. A particular kind of plant, believed to cure all diseases.
2. panacea, catholicon.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Derived terms

• panacinus

Descendants

References

• panacea in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• panacea in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• panacea in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• panacea in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin panac?a, Ancient Greek ???????? (panákeia), from ??????? (panak?s, “all-healing”), from ??? (pân, “all”) + ???? (ákos, “cure”).

Noun

panacea f (plural panaceas)

1. panacea