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

1820–30; < Spanish quin(a) (< Quechua kina bark) + -ine2

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
[ kwīnīn′ ]

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
[ kwīnīn′ ]

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.