ip·e·cac

[ip-i-kak]
noun
1.
the dried root of a shrubby South American plant, Cephaelis ipecacuanha, of the madder family.
2.
the plant itself.
3.
a drug consisting of the dried roots of this plant, used as an emetic, purgative, etc., and as the source of emetine.
Also, ip·e·cac·u·an·ha [ip-i-kak-yoo-an-uh] .


Origin:
1780–90, Americanism; short for ipecacuanha < Portuguese < Tupi ipekaaguéne, equivalent to ipeh low + kaâ leaves + guéne vomit

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Ipecac is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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World English Dictionary
ipecacuanha or ipecac (ˌɪpɪˌkækjʊˈænə, ˈɪpɪˌkæk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a low-growing South American rubiaceous shrub, Cephaelis ipecacuanha
2.  a drug prepared from the dried roots of this plant, used as a purgative and emetic
 
[C18: from Portuguese, from Tupi ipekaaguéne, from ipeh low + kaa leaves + guéne vomit]
 
ipecac or ipecac
 
n
 
[C18: from Portuguese, from Tupi ipekaaguéne, from ipeh low + kaa leaves + guéne vomit]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ipecac
1788, borrowing via Port. of a shortened form of Tupi ipecacuana (1682), a medicinal plant of Brazil, the Indian word said to mean "small plant causing vomit."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

ipecac ip·e·cac (ĭp'ĭ-kāk')
n.
A preparation that is made from the dried roots and rhizomes of the shrub Cephaelis ipecacuanha that is used to induce vomiting.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Heart problems are a particular risk when anorexia is compounded by bulimia and the use of ipecac, a drug that causes vomiting.
Still, some clients swallow that logic as if it were a quart of ipecac.
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