aperient

[ uh-peer-ee-uh nt ]
/ əˈpɪər i ənt /
Medicine/Medical

adjective

having a mild purgative or laxative effect.

noun

a medicine or food that acts as a mild laxative.
Also called aperitive.

Origin of aperient

1620–30; < Latin aperient- (stem of aperiēns opening, present participle of aperīre to open), equivalent to aperi- (apparently ap-, variant of ab- ab- + -eri-) + -ent- -ent; the base -eri-, perhaps with an earlier shape *wery- or *twery-, occurs only in this verb and operīre to close (see cover, operculum)

Example sentences from the Web for aperient

British Dictionary definitions for aperient

aperient
/ (əˈpɪərɪənt) med /

adjective

laxative

noun

a mild laxative

Word Origin for aperient

C17: from Latin aperīre to open