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Today's Word "nostrum"

A quack medicine on

Published in Vocabulary

nostrum \NOS-truhm\ (noun) - 1. A medicine of secret composition and unproven or dubious effectiveness; a quack medicine. 2 : A usually questionable remedy or scheme; a cure-all.

"'He's carrying on his father's trade, for what he has just dispensed to us is very like a nostrum,' said Stanislas, assuming one of his most provocative poses. 'If I needed a nostrum, I could choose a better one.'" -- Honoré de Balzac, 'Lost Illusions'

 

Nostrum comes from Latin nostrum (remedium), "our (remedy)," from nos, "we."


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