tartar emetic
- noun
- /ˈtɑrtər ɪˈmɛtɪk/
- Archaic
:
emético de tartar
- The chemist explained the toxic effects of tartar emetic if ingested.
Examples
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In the 19th century, tartar emetic was commonly used to induce vomiting.
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The doctor prescribed tartar emetic for the patient.
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Accidental exposure to tartar emetic can result in severe poisoning.
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Many people are unaware of the dangers of tartar emetic.
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Tartar emetic is a potent substance that can cause vomiting when ingested.
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In the past, doctors sometimes used tartar emetic to induce vomiting in patients.
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Before the advent of modern medicine, tartar emetic was commonly used as an emetic for various ailments.
Synonyms
A poisonous colorless salt used to fix colors in dyeing and formerly to make people vomit
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straightforward noun–noun composition where 'tartar' denotes a salt and 'emetic' denotes a substance that induces vomiting, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a salt used as an emetic. This follows regular English compound-naming patterns (a type/kind of X), making the sense predictable rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Tartar emetic is a chemical name: tartar refers to a salt left from wine, and emetic means 'to make you vomit'. It was called this because the salt was once used in medicine to cause vomiting, so the name explains its harmful use.
