nostrum
A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any…A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects.
» Mary dismissed the diet plan as just another fashionable nostrum.
Meaning
2 sensesA medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects.
Near-synonyms: paternoster, patent medicine, snake oil
Hausmittel
панацеяpanaceja
(broadly)An ineffective but favorite remedy for a problem, usually involving political action.
übliches Rezept, altes Rezept
- patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable
- hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists
Examples
6 sentencesMary dismissed the diet plan as just another fashionable nostrum.
The old pamphlet advertised a nostrum that promised instant relief from pain.
Tom's political speech offered a simple nostrum for a very complicated problem.
The mafia is also called the Cosa Nostra.
deDie Mafia wird auch als die „Cosa Nostra“ bezeichnet.
David is rumored to be in the Kosher Nostra.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
Learned borrowing from Latin nostrum (“ours”), nominative neuter of noster (“our, ours”).Learned borrowing from Latin nostrum (“ours”), nominative neuter of noster (“our, ours”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: nostrums / nostraSynonyms
7 synonyms- hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists:panaceacatholiconcure-all
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Plural nouns — Because its plural is irregular