diacetylmorphine

9.9

A strong illegal drug made from the pain medicine morphine that causes heavy addiction

noun
/ˌdaɪəˈsɛtəlˌmɔrfɪn/

NSFW

: diacetilmorfina

I have used heroin for more than 20 years; heroin, the generic chemical name for it, is diacetylmorphine. It is just morphine, folks. Heroin, as it’s called today, has a stigmatized name.

Examples

Bayers also made this change here, and they did find that diacetylmorphine is much, much more potent than morphine is.
Many people are unaware that diacetylmorphine, known as heroin, can lead to severe addiction.
Dole, V.P., & Nyswander, M.E. 1965. A medical treatment for diacetylmorphine (heroin) addiction. Journal of the American Medical Association, 193, 646-650.

Academic text (2009)
Diacetylmorphine is often found on the streets, where it is sold illegally as heroin.
During the investigation, authorities discovered a large quantity of diacetylmorphine hidden in the warehouse.

Synonyms

drug

vsdiacetylmorphine

NSFW

∞ 1.9

A medicine or chemical that treats illness and sometimes changes how someone feels

is a specific, highly addictive narcotic derived from morphine, often used illicitly

heroin

vsdiacetylmorphine

NSFW

367 6.6

A strong illegal drug made from morphine that people easily become addicted to

is the chemical or technical name used in formal contexts

narcotic

vsdiacetylmorphine

NSFW

125 6.6

A strong drug used for severe pain that can make a person numb and cause addiction

is a specific, named example of that general class

opioid

vsdiacetylmorphine

NSFW

33 5.1

A drug that eases pain by acting on the body's pain system and can cause addiction

is a particular, illegally used member of that pain-relieving class

drug of abuse

vsdiacetylmorphine

NSFW

1 5.8

A drug taken for pleasure that changes how you think and can cause addiction or harm

focuses on chemical identity and origin rather than only nonmedical use

Surface Forms

diacetylmorphine singular

diacetylmorphines plural

Morphology

diacetylmorphine = morphine (semi-transparent) = diacetyl + morphine

Formally built as 'diacetyl' + 'morphine' (a chemical modification), which is clear morphologically but relies on specialized chemical knowledge of 'acetyl' so is not fully accessible to average learners.

Etymology

Diacetylmorphine is made of parts: di- 'two', acetyl from 'acetic' which you can think of like 'vinegar', and morphine. The morphine part is named after Morpheus 'god of dreams' because morphine makes people sleepy and dreamy. So diacetylmorphine is a chemically changed form of morphine with two acetyl parts and is the drug known as heroin, a very strong and addictive substance.