Word of the Day Archive
Thursday February 14, 2002
philter \FIL-ter\
, noun:
1. A magic potion for any purpose.
2. A potion, charm, or drug supposed to cause the person taking it to fall in love, usually with some specific person.
Tell me now, fairy as you are - can't you give me a charm, or a philter, or something of that sort, to make me a handsome man ? "
-- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Mariamne had told him it was a love philter and promised a large reward if he would get me to drink it without my knowledge.
-- Michel Tournier, Ralph Manheim, The Four Wise Men
Philter originates from the Greek philtron, "love potion," which itself derives from the Greek philos "love of."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for philter
