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Webster 1913 Edition


Colocynth

Col′ocynth

,
Noun.
[L.
colocynthis
, Gr. [GREEK]. Cf.
Coloquintida
.]
(Med.)
The light spongy pulp of the fruit of the bitter cucumber (
Citrullus colocynthis
, or
Cucumis colocynthis
), an Asiatic plant allied to the watermelon; coloquintida. It comes in white balls, is intensely bitter, and a powerful cathartic. Called also
bitter apple
,
bitter cucumber
,
bitter gourd
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Colocynth

COLOCYNTH

,
Noun.
The coloquintida, or bitter apple of the shops, a kind of gourd, from Aleppo and from Crete. It contains a bitter pulp, which is a drastic purge.

Definition 2024


colocynth

colocynth

English

Noun

colocynth (plural colocynths)

  1. A viny plant, Citrullus colocynthis, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. It produces a lemon-sized, yellowish, green-mottled, spongy, and extremely bitter fruit, a powerful hepatic stimulant and hydragogue cathartic used as a strong laxative.

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