anodyne
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L316313 on Wikidata ↗adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L334460 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈæn.ə.daɪn/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English anodine, from Medieval Latin anōdynos (“stilling or relieving pain”), from Ancient Greek ἀνώδυνος (anṓdunos, “free from pain”), from ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ὀδύνη (odúnē, “pain”). Adjective sense “noncontentious” probably through French anodin (“harmless, trivial”), of same origin.
- Capable of soothing or eliminating pain.
“Many a time has the vapor of ether been inhaled for the relief of oppressed lungs; many a time has the sought relief been thus obtained; and just so many times has the discovery of the wonderful anodyne properties of this gas, as affecting all bodily suffering, been brushed past and overlooked.”
“The citrate is the most efficient as an alkali, but irritates some stomachs, the liquor the most anodyne, the acetate the most diuretic.”
- Soothing or relaxing.
“Classical music is rather anodyne.”
- Noncontentious, blandly agreeable, unlikely to cause offence or debate.
“Near-synonyms: harmless, neutral”
“It all became so routine, so anodyne, so dull.”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English anodine, from Medieval Latin anōdynos (“stilling or relieving pain”), from Ancient Greek ἀνώδυνος (anṓdunos, “free from pain”), from ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ὀδύνη (odúnē, “pain”). Adjective sense “noncontentious” probably through French anodin (“harmless, trivial”), of same origin.
- Any medicine or other agent that relieves pain.
- A source of relaxation or comfort.
“Nor do I mean to say that Virtue is not Virtue because it is never tempted to go astray; only that dulness is a much finer gift than we give it credit for being; and that some people are very lucky whom Nature has endowed with a good store of that great anodyne.”
“The air was heavy with the perfume of the flowers, and their beauty seemed to bring him an anodyne for his pain.”