Nostrum - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Nostrum : (noun)
1: hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists [syn: panacea, cure-all]
2: patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable

Based on WordNet 2.0

Nostrum : \Nos"trum\ (-tr[u^]m), n.; pl. Nostrums (-tr[u^]mz). [Neut. sing. of L. noster ours, fr. nos we. See Us.] 1. A medicine, the ingredients of which are kept secret for the purpose of restricting the profits of sale to the inventor or proprietor; a quack medicine.

2. Any scheme or device proposed by a quack.

The incentives of agitators, the arts of impostors and the nostrums of quacks. --Brougham.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Nostrum : Nostrum: A worthless remedy.

"Nostrum" is an example of a term that came from medicine, entered the world beyond medicine, fell into disuse in medicine, but is still used outside medicine.

A nostrum was a medicine of secret composition recommended by the person who concocted it but with no scientific proof of its effectiveness. A patent medicine (or any quack remedy) was a nostrum.

The word "nostrum" entered the English language in 1602 straight from the Latin "nostrum", a form of "noster," meaning "our." It is thought that specially prepared medicines came to be called "nostrums" because their purveyors marketed them as "our own" remedy.

A nostrum came to mean any questionable remedy or scheme for improving matters, a pet plan for accomplishing things, a panacea. In this sense, nostrum has been a part of English since at least 1749. In 19th-century England it was written that: "Another party's nostrum is, more churches, more schools, more clergymen." In the U.S. the Democrats might claim that a Republican plan to offer tax relief in the expectation that the benefits will "trickle down" to the poor is an unfair and ineffective nostrum. Or the Republicans might label the Democrats' liking for "big government" as a costly and noxious nostrum.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)