elixir

elixir

See also: elixír, elíxir, and élixir

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin elixir, from Arabic اَلْإِكْسِير‎ (al-ʾiksīr), from Ancient Greek ξηρίον (xēríon, “medicinal powder”), from ξηρός (xērós, “dry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈlɪksə(ɹ)/, /ə-/, /-ɪə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪksə(ɹ)

Noun

elixir (plural elixirs)

1. (alchemy) A liquid which converts lead to gold.
   • 2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2004, p. 59:

     For Chinese alchemists, gold held the key to the Elixir, the Eastern equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone.

2. (alchemy) A substance or liquid which is believed to cure all ills and give eternal life.
3. (by extension) The alleged cure for all ailments; cure-all, panacea.
   • 2015, The Boston Globe, Steven Pinker, The moral imperative for bioethics:

     The silver-bullet cancer cures of yesterday’s newsmagazine covers, like interferon and angiogenesis inhibitors, disappointed the breathless expectations, as have elixirs such as antioxidants, Vioxx, and hormone replacement therapy.

4. (pharmacy) A sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste.
   • 1906, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association (volume 47, pages 872-875)

     The subcommittee's report to the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry shows that the action of somnos is practically identical with that of a 5 per cent elixir of hydrated chloral.

Derived terms

• elixir of life
• elixir of vitriol
• elixir vitae

 

Translations

alchemy: liquid which was believed to turn non-precious metals to gold

Arabic: إِكْسِير‎ m (ʾiksīr) Bulgarian: еликси́р (bg) m (eliksír) Catalan: elixir m Chinese: Mandarin: 鍊金藥／炼金药 (liànjīnyào) Danish: eliksir c Finnish: eliksiiri (fi) Georgian: ელექსირი (eleksiri) German: Elixier (de) n Greek: ελιξήριο (el) n (elixírio) Hungarian: elixír (hu) Italian: elisir (it) m Japanese: エリクサー (erikusā) Korean: 엘릭서 (ellikseo) Norwegian: Bokmål: eliksir (no) m Nynorsk: eliksir m Portuguese: elixir (pt) m Russian: эликси́р (ru) m (eliksír) Spanish: elixir (es) m Turkish: eliksir (tr)

liquid which is believed to cure all ills

Bulgarian: еликси́р (bg) m (eliksír) Chinese: Mandarin: 仙丹 (zh) (xiāndān), 萬能藥／万能药 (wànnéngyào) Danish: eliksir c Dutch: elixer (nl) Finnish: eliksiiri (fi) Georgian: ელექსირი (eleksiri) German: Elixier (de) n, Zaubertrunk m, Heilmittel (de) n Greek: ελιξήριο (el) n (elixírio) Hindi: अमृत (hi) m (amŕt) Hungarian: elixír (hu) Italian: elisir (it) m Japanese: 万能薬 (bannōyaku) Norwegian: Bokmål: eliksir (no) m Nynorsk: eliksir m Persian: اکسیر‎ (fa) (eksir) Portuguese: elixir (pt) m Russian: эликси́р (ru) m (eliksír), панаце́я (ru) f (panacéja) Scottish Gaelic: brìgh f, ìocshlaint f Spanish: elixir (es) m Turkish: eliksir (tr)

pharmacy: sweet taste-masking liquid

Danish: eliksir c Dutch: elixer (nl) Finnish: eliksiiri (fi) French: élixir (fr) m Georgian: ელექსირი (eleksiri) German: Elixier (de) n, Heilmittel (de) n Greek: ελιξήριο (el) n (elixírio) Italian: elisir (it) m Japanese: エリクシル (erikushiru), エリキシル (erikishiru) Norwegian: Bokmål: eliksir (no) m Nynorsk: eliksir m Portuguese: elixir (pt) m Russian: эликси́р (ru) m (eliksír) Turkish: eliksir (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: (please verify) اكسير‎ (’iksīr) Hebrew: (please verify) סַם פֶּלֶא‎, (please verify) מַרְפֵּא פֶּלֶא‎, Korean: (please verify) 연금술의 영액 (yeon'geumsurui yeong'aek) (yeon-geumsul-ui yeong-aek) Latin: (please verify) elixir n, (please verify) elixirium n Slovak: (please verify) elixír m Swedish: (please verify) elixir (sv) n

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Asturian

Verb

elixir

1. to choose
2. to elect

Synonyms

• escoyer

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Dutch

Etymology

From Medieval Latin elixir, from Arabic اَلْإِكْسِير‎ (al-ʾiksīr), from Ancient Greek ξηρίον (xēríon, “medicinal powder”), from ξηρός (xērós, “dry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌeːˈlɪk.sɪr/, /ˌeːˈlɪk.sər/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: elixir

Noun

elixir n (plural elixirs, diminutive elixirtje n)

1. Alternative form of elixer

Derived terms

• maagelixir

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Galician

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin eligo. Doublet of esleer.

Compare Portuguese eleger and Spanish elegir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛ.li.ˈʃiɾ]

Verb

elixir (first-person singular present elixo, first-person singular preterite elixín, past participle elixido)

1. to choose, elect
   • 1418, Á. Rodríguez González (ed.), Libro do Concello de Santiago (1416-1422). Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 85:

     para que dos ditos dose omes o dito señor arçobispo o a quel que seu poder para elo touvese tomase et eligise dous deles que os lle aprovuese et os dese por alcalles enna dita çidade en quel anno

     so that of that twelve men said lord archbishop, or anyone who his power has at the momment, takes and chooses two of them, and that he approves and gives them as mayors of said city for that year

   Synonym: escoller

Conjugation

Conjugation of elixir

	singular			plural
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
Infinitive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
impersonal	elixir
personal	elixir	elixires	elixir	elixirmos	elixirdes	elixiren
Gerund
	elixindo
Past participle	singular			plural
masculine	elixido			elixidos
feminine	elixida			elixidas
Indicative	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	elixo	elixes	elixe	eliximos	elixides	elixen
imperfect	elixía	elixías	elixía	elixiamos	elixiades	elixían
preterite	elixín	elixiches	elixiu	eliximos	elixistes	elixiron
pluperfect	elixira	elixiras	elixira	elixiramos	elixirades	elixiran
future	elixirei	elixirás	elixirá	elixiremos	elixiredes	elixirán
conditional	elixiría	elixirías	elixiría	elixiriamos	elixiriades	elixirían
Subjunctive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	elixa	elixas	elixa	elixamos	elixades	elixan
preterite	elixise	elixises	elixise	elixísemos	elixísedes	elixisen
future	elixir	elixires	elixir	elixirmos	elixirdes	elixiren
Imperative	–	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
affirmative	–	elixe	elixa	elixamos	elixide	elixan
negative	–	elixas	elixa	elixamos	elixades	elixan

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin elixir, from Arabic اَلْإِكْسِير‎ (al-ʾiksīr), from Ancient Greek ξηρίον (xēríon, “medicinal powder”), from ξηρός (xērós, “dry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛ.lik.ˈsiɾ]

Noun

elixir m (plural elixires)

1. elixir

References

• “eligir” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “elig” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “elexir” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “elixir” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “elixir” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

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Portuguese

Noun

elixir m (plural elixires)

1. (alchemy) elixir (liquid which was believed to turn non-precious metals to gold)
2. (fiction) a magical potion

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Romanian

Etymology

From French élixir.

Noun

elixir n (plural elixire)

1. elixir

Declension

Declension of elixir

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) elixir	elixirul	(niște) elixire	elixirele
genitive/dative	(unui) elixir	elixirului	(unor) elixire	elixirelor
vocative	elixirule		elixirelor

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Spanish

Noun

elixir m (plural elixires)

1. Alternative spelling of elíxir

Further reading

• “elixir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014