🧱 Absorbent mineral 💊 Digestive remedy

attapulgite

1 9.5

A clay used as a medicine to stop diarrhea and calm the stomach

noun
/ˌætəˈpʌlˌdʒaɪt/

Specialized

: attapulgita

After eating street food, he took attapulgite to settle his stomach.

Examples

Doctors sometimes recommend attapulgite to help control mild cases of diarrhea.
The pharmacy stocked several brands of attapulgite tablets for digestive relief.
The doctor recommended attapulgite for my stomach issues.
Many people use attapulgite to relieve diarrhea.
Doctors sometimes recommend attapulgite to help control mild cases of diarrhea.
The pharmacy stocked several brands of attapulgite tablets for digestive relief.
After eating street food, he took attapulgite to settle his stomach.

Surface Forms

attapulgite singular

attapulgites plural

Morphology

attapulgite = Attapulgus (opaque) = attapulg + ite

Although '-ite' indicates a mineral or substance, the base is a place name unfamiliar to learners, so the medicinal sense cannot be derived from the components.

Etymology

Attapulgite comes from the town name Attapulgus, where people first dug up this natural 'clay'. Because the clay 'absorbs' liquids well, it was used in medicines for stomach problems, which is why attapulgite refers to a medicinal clay that helps with diarrhea.