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Elixir

[ih-lik-ser]

noun

Pharmacology. a sweetened, aromatic solution of alcohol and water containing, or used as a vehicle for, medicinal substances.

Also called elixir of life. an alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of prolonging life.

an alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold.

the quintessence or absolute embodiment of anything.

a panacea; cure-all; sovereign remedy.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin < Arabic al iksīr alchemical preparation < Late Greek xḗrion drying powder (for wounds), equivalent to Greek xēr(ós) dry + -ion, neuter of -ios adj. suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Elixir is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Example Sentences

Its heroes are vain, brave and consumed by the heady elixir of violence and the dark night of bereavement.

They have sought it since the first alchemist put an elixir of life on the same shopping list as a way to turn lead into gold.

But it's the handful of intrinsic-and collectively unique-properties that explains why water is the elixir of life.

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Its heroes are vain, brave and consumed by the heady elixir of violence and the dark night of bereavement.

They have sought it since the first alchemist put an elixir of life on the same shopping list as a way to turn lead into gold.

But it's the handful of intrinsic-and collectively unique-properties that explains why water is the elixir of life.

Sinclair's basic claim is simple, if seemingly improbable: he has found an elixir of youth.

All of a sudden, whether through divine intervention or an elixir slipped into the water supply, death is banished.

The search for an elixir of life has taken people to some strange places.

Of course science thrives on a powerful elixir of optimism and challenge.

Free trade so enabled is the promised elixir for the woes of developing nations.

But his experiences did not offer a clue to a reliable elixir anxiously sought by long-lifeists.

He would want all who grieve for him to transform that grief into an elixir of promise and hope for humanity.

In his search for an elixir he injected himself with.

Alchemists tried to produce a potion from ground jade-the elixir of life-that would grant immortality.

In fact, those privileged few drinking a cup of the dark elixir were likely members of the high priesthood or royalty.

Consider adding this body- and soul-warming elixir to your holiday menu.

Colorado has always been deemed the ultimate elixir for any player batting.

Paracelsus was said to travel on a white horse and to carry the elixir of life in the pommel of his broadsword.

Like the mineral water from bucolic sources that lines grocery store shelves today, the local elixir has a venerable past.

He works at a podiatrist's clinic and one day attempts suicide by quaffing a whole bottle of a weight-loss elixir.

Nor is technology the instant elixir it is sometimes considered to.

The evidence is conflicting, but to date it does not indicate green tea is a panacea or the elixir many believe it to be.

When you're my age, honey, color is the elixir of youth.

Now it thinks it might have literally found the elixir of youth.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

elixir (ɪˈlɪksə)

—n
1.	an alchemical preparation supposed to be capable of prolonging life indefinitely (elixir of life) or of transmuting base metals into gold
2.	anything that purports to be a sovereign remedy; panacea
3.	an underlying principle; quintessence
4.	a liquid containing a medicinal drug with syrup, glycerine, or alcohol added to mask its unpleasant taste

[C14: from Medieval Latin, from Arabic al iksīr the elixir, probably from Greek xērion powder used for drying wounds, from xēros dry]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

elixir

1266, from M.L. elixir "philosopher's stone," believed by alchemists to transmute baser metals into gold and/or to cure diseases and prolong life, from Arabic al-iksir, probably from late Gk. xerion "powder for drying wounds," from xeros "dry." General sense of "strong tonic" is 1597; used for quack

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medicines from at least 1631.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

elixir e·lix·ir (ĭ-lĭk'sər)
n.
A sweetened aromatic solution of alcohol and water, serving as a vehicle for medicine.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

elixir

in alchemy, substance thought to be capable of changing base metals into gold. The same term, more fully elixir vitae, "elixir of life," was given to the substance that would indefinitely prolong life-a liquid that was believed to be allied with the philosopher's stone. Chinese Taoists not only sought the "pill of immortality" but developed techniques (meditation, breathing exercises, diet) that were thought to confer immortality by internal alchemy.

Learn more about elixir with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Matching Quote

"I can die when I wish to: that is my elixir of life."

-Ernest Renan

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