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A.Word.A.Day--antipyretic

Pronunciation RealAudio

antipyretic (an-tee-py-RET-ik) adjective

Reducing or relieving fever.

noun

A medicine that reduces or relieves fever.

[From Middle English anti- (against) + pyretic (relating to fever), from New Latin pyreticus, from Greek pureto (fever), from pur (fire). Other words derived from the same root are fire, pyrotechnics (fireworks), and pyrites (mineral that produces sparks when struck).]

"Physicians suggest antipyretic drugs and normal water sponging to reduce fever." Abdur Rahman Khan, Viral Fever Grips City, The Independent (Bangladesh), Jun 13, 2000.

"From paint to pain: Friedrich Bayer and Friedrich Weskott were two buddies who set up an international paint and dye company in Germany in 1863. Scientists in 1886 discovered an antipyretic painkiller could be manufactured from the waste of one of the dye products. So, in 1888, the pair set up a pharmaceutical department." Marilyn Linton; Little Pill Made a Big Difference; The Toronto Sun (Canada); Mar 14, 1999.

This week's theme: Words related to medicine.

X-Bonus

No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. -John Donne, poet (1573-1631)

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