Meanings
noungargarism (plural gargarisms)
plural gargarisms
- obsoletea gargle; a liquid used to gargle with.
Such as are not swallowed, but only kept in the mouth, are gargarisms used commonly after a purge, when the body is soluble and loose.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 4, member 2, subsection 3
Origin
- Ancient Greekγαργάρισμα
- Latingargarisma
- Englishgargarism
From Latin gargarisma, from Ancient Greek γαργάρισμα (gargárisma).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
gargarism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gargarism
MLA
“gargarism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gargarism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gargarism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gargarism.
Source: gargarism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.