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APERIENTS

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅per⋅i⋅ent

[uh-peer-ee-uhnt] Medicine/Medical
–adjective
1. having a mild purgative or laxative effect.
–noun
2. a medicine or food that acts as a mild laxative.
Also called aperitive.


Origin:
1620–30; < L aperient- (s. of aperiēns opening, prp. of aperīre to open), equiv. to aperi- (appar. ap-, var. of ab- ab- + -eri-) + -ent- -ent; the base -eri-, perh. with an earlier shape *wery- or *twery-, occurs only in this verb and operīre to close (see cover, operculum )
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To APERIENTS
a·pe·ri·ent   (ə-pîr'ē-ənt)   
adj.  Gently stimulating evacuation of the bowels; laxative.
n.  A mild laxative.

[Latin aperiēns, aperient-, present participle of aperīre, to open; see wer-4 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2aperient
Function: noun
: an aperient agent
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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