mor·phine

[mawr-feen]
noun Pharmacology.
a white, bitter, crystalline alkaloid, C 1 7 H 1 9 NO 3 ⋅H 2 O, the most important narcotic and addictive principle of opium, obtained by extraction and crystallization and used chiefly in medicine as a pain reliever and sedative.
Also, mor·phi·a [mawr-fee-uh] .


Origin:
1820–30; < German Morphin. See Morpheus, -ine2

mor·phin·ic [mawr-fin-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To morphine
00:10
Morphine is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Collins
World English Dictionary
morphine or morphia (ˈmɔːfiːn, ˈmɔːfɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
an alkaloid extracted from opium: used in medicine as an analgesic and sedative, although repeated use causes addiction. Formula: C17H19NO3
 
[C19: from French, from Morpheus]
 
morphia or morphia
 
n
 
[C19: from French, from Morpheus]

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

morphine
1828, from Fr. morphine or Ger. Morphin (1816), name coined in allusion to L. Morpheus, Ovid's name for the god of dreams, from Gk. morphe "form, shape, beauty, outward appearance," perhaps from PIE *merph-, a possible Gk. root meaning "form," of unknown origin. So called
because of the drug's sleep-inducing properties.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

morphine mor·phine (môr'fēn')
n.
A bitter crystalline alkaloid extracted from opium, the soluble salts of which are used in medicine as an analgesic, a light anesthetic, or a sedative. Also called morphia.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
morphine   (môr'fēn')  Pronunciation Key 
A highly addictive drug derived from opium and used to treat intractable pain, as in severe injury or metastatic cancer.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
morphine [(mawr-feen)]

An addictive drug derived from opium that is used as an analgesic and sedative.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The work further showed that the fewer receptors, the less responsive the
  animals were to morphine.
He must have calculated how much morphine he could inject without losing
  control of a scalpel.
If that were the case, morphine would be far more cost efficient than striving
  for economic prosperity.
Tobacco and nicotine have a potential for addiction that is similar to alcohol,
  cocaine, and morphine.
Images for morphine
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT