Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A powder of aloes with canella, composed of four parts of aloes to one part of canella. It is used as a cathartic.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Med.) The powder of aloes with canella, formerly officinal, employed as a cathartic.
Etymologies
- Latin, from Ancient Greek πίκρα (pikra, "a kind of antidote") from πικρός (pikros, "sharp, bitter"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“He had to swallow a stiff dose of nasty "picra," -- the horror of all childhood, and he was put in bed immediately.”
“But then he fell thinking whether, with the "picra," and the going to bed in the afternoon, and the loss of his supper, he had not been sufficiently paid for it.”
“It is hiera picra, [9] two spoonfuls, devilish stuff!”
“Or, one ounce of hicra picra, or powdered aloes with castella, mixed in a pint of gin, which should stand for four or five days, after which a tablespoonful in a glass of water may be taken every morning or second morning, as the case may be.”
The Ladies Book of Useful Information Compiled from many sources
“Concoct hiera picra, rhubarb beer, and oil of charity; and sympathize over sprains, whitloes, and broken shins.”
“a phial with hiera picra, and another with paregoric, and another with”
“hot drops," and ruled paper to write letters on, and a little Bible, and a phial with hiera picra, and another with paregoric, and another with "camphire" for sprains and bruises.”
“Greek) hiera picra], reduced to ink, pink, as in a milder version of Wilkie's lines:”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘picra’.
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Brochettes of Random Palavery
Another of my random palavery lists for words or phrases that haven't yet found a place in one or more of my other lists.
nonexclusivity, adaptationist, paxillin, adduct, unblushingly cribbed, ptomaïne, microsievert, millisievert, too big to jail, tastemaker, tinsmithing, Nimzo-Indian and 1616 more...
Tweets
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