milk of magnesia
1
3.5
- noun
- /mɪlk əv mæɡˈniːʒə/
:
leche de magnesia
- I've got a nervous stomach, and my cat spilled my milk of magnesia.
But usually I just stick with the the milk of Magnesia here.
- But usually I just stick with the the milk of Magnesia here.
- No, no chocolate or black currant flavours, just plain milk of magnesia.
Examples
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My milk of magnesia.
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I'd eaten, and she made me take milk of magnesia, and she sponged me off with cool water and put me to bed.
Fiction book (1993) -
"I need a bottle of milk of magnesia for Messeguer...
Fiction book (1995) -
I've noticed the same thing in other stables where I've seen horse worming medicine stored in Mason jars and alcohol in blue milk of magnesia bottles.
Fiction book (1998) -
He visited once a week, going from room to room, checking out the widows, using his stethoscope on old farmers' chests, prescribing milk of magnesia, paregoric, and aspirin.
Fiction book (1999) -
The doctor recommended that I take milk of magnesia to alleviate my heartburn.
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After the meal, I felt nauseous and used milk of magnesia as an antacid remedy.
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When I experienced constipation, I relied on milk of magnesia to help relieve the discomfort.
Synonyms
A white powder used to stop heartburn and relieve constipation
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a literal noun phrase formed from 'milk' + 'of' + 'magnesia' and directly suggests a milky liquid containing magnesia; a learner who knows those constituents can infer it refers to a milk-like medicinal product. This follows a common noun-of-noun composition pattern (product made from/containing X) and is not idiomatic or metaphorical, so it should be understandable at B1 given knowledge of the parts.
Etymology
Milk of magnesia comes from its white, milky look and from magnesia, an old name for the magnesium mineral found near a place called Magnesia. Because the medicine is a milky liquid made from that mineral, milk of magnesia now means the common 'antacid' and 'laxative' people use for heartburn or constipation.