quinine
[ kwahy-nahyn, kwin-ahyn or, esp. British, kwi-neen ]
/ ˈkwaɪ naɪn, ˈkwɪn aɪn or, esp. British, kwɪˈnin /
noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.
a white, bitter, slightly water-soluble alkaloid, C20H24N2O2, having needlelike crystals, obtained from cinchona bark: used in medicine chiefly in the treatment of resistant forms of malaria.
a salt of this alkaloid, especially the sulfate.
Origin of quinine
Words nearby quinine
quinestrol,
quinhydrone,
quinic acid,
quinidine,
quiniela,
quinine,
quinine water,
quinn,
quinnat salmon,
quino-,
quinoa
Example sentences from the Web for quinine
British Dictionary definitions for quinine
quinine
/ (kwɪˈniːn, US ˈkwaɪnaɪn) /
noun
a bitter crystalline alkaloid extracted from cinchona bark, the salts of which are used as a tonic, antipyretic, analgesic, etc, and in malaria therapy. Formula: C 20 H 24 N 2 O 2
Word Origin for quinine
C19: from Spanish
quina cinchona bark, from Quechua
kina bark
Medical definitions for quinine
quinine
[ kwī′nīn′ ]
n.
A bitter colorless amorphous powder or crystalline alkaloid derived from certain cinchona barks and used to treat malaria.
Any of various compounds or salts of quinine.
Scientific definitions for quinine
quinine
[ kwī′nīn′ ]
A bitter-tasting, colorless drug derived from the bark of certain cinchona trees and used medicinally to treat malaria. For hundreds of years quinine was the only drug known to effectively combat malarial infection. It has since been largely replaced by synthetic compounds that not only relieve the symptoms of malaria but also rid the body of the malarial parasite, which quinine does not do. See Note at aspirin.