anthelmintic

English

WOTD – 20 September 2011

Etymology

From ant- + helminth + -ic; the th in helminth has become t by dissimilation.

Pronunciation

Adjective

anthelmintic (comparative more anthelmintic, superlative most anthelmintic)

  1. (medicine) Destructive to parasitic intestinal worms.
    Research is progressing well on finding native plants with anthelmintic properties.
    • 1911, Ankylostomiasis, article in Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition,
      The parasites thrive in an environment of dirt, and the main lines of precaution are those dictated by sanitary science. Malefern, santonine, thymol and other anthelmintic remedies are prescribed.
    • 1918, American Society for Microbiology, Society of American Bacteriologists, Abstracts of Bacteriology, Volume 2, page 262,
      However, the lighter boiling constituents of tne oil are much less irritating and at the same time they are apparently more anthelmintic than the heavier fraction.
    • 1919, Experiment Station Record, Volume 39, page 586,
      Our experiments indicate that this constituent is anthelmintic and also a gastrointestinal irritant, while the lighter portion of the oil is apparently even more anthelmintic and much less irritating.

Alternative forms

Translations

Noun

anthelmintic (plural anthelmintics)

  1. (medicine) A drug for the treatment of intestinal worm infestation, either by killing the worms or by causing them to be expelled from the body.
    • 1911, Pomegranate, article in Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:
      The bark of the root is likewise valued as an anthelmintic in cases of tape-worm.
    • 2010, Graham R. Duncanson, Veterinary Treatment for Working Equines, page 42:
      Rather than give a long list of the anthelmintics available, I will describe the helminths that cause problems and then suggest methods of control.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.