colocynth
[ kol-uh-sinth ]
/ ˈkɒl ə sɪnθ /
noun
a plant, Citrullus colocynthis, belonging to the gourd family, of the warmer parts of Asia, the Mediterranean region, etc., bearing a round, yellow or green fruit with a bitter pulp.
the fruit of this plant.
Pharmacology.
the drug derived from the pulp of the unripe but full-grown fruit of this plant, used in medicine chiefly as a purgative.
Also called
bitter apple
(for defs 1, 2).
Origin of colocynth
1555–65; < Latin
colocynthis < Greek
kolokynthís, variant of
kolókyntha bitter gourd, bitter cucumber
Words nearby colocynth
colobus,
colocate,
colocentesis,
colocholecystostomy,
colocolostomy,
colocynth,
coloenteritis,
colog,
cologarithm,
cologne,
cologne brown
Example sentences from the Web for colocynth
British Dictionary definitions for colocynth
colocynth
/ (ˈkɒləsɪnθ) /
noun
a cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Citrullus colocynthis, of the Mediterranean region and Asia, having bitter-tasting fruit
the dried fruit pulp of this plant, used as a strong purgative
German name:
bitter apple
Word Origin for colocynth
C17: from Latin
colocynthis, from Greek
kolokunthis, from
kolokunthē gourd, of obscure origin