ipecacuanha

I1P3E1C3A1C3U1A1N1H4A1
/ɪpɪkakjuːˈænə/

noun

The root of Carapichea ipecacuanha, used as an emetic or purgative; a preparation of this root used as a drug; ipecac.

OriginBrazilian Portuguese ipecacuanha →
First used 17th c.Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounipecacuanha (countable and uncountable, plural ipecacuanhas)

plural ipecacuanhas

  1. countableuncountablemedicineThe root of Carapichea ipecacuanha, used as an emetic or purgative; a preparation of this root used as a drug; ipecac.First known use 17th c.

    This ipecacuanha is a most disagreeable medicine!

    1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter CCXI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    A general labor “shortage” crimped Amazonian drug supply chains: the difficulty of procuring ipecacuanha, for example, stemmed not only from the health hazards of the emetic's acrid juice and pungent dust to workers but from bosses' reluctance to reassign indebted rubber tappers to uproot the plant.

    2022, Seth Garfield, Guaraná […] , Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN
  2. countableuncountablemedicineThe flowering plant Carapichea ipecacuanha.First known use 18th c.

Origin

  1. Brazilian Portugueseipecacuanha
  2. Englishipecacuanha

From Brazilian Portuguese ipecacuanha, from Old Tupi ypekakûãîa, from ypeka (“duck”) + akûãîa (“penis”).

More words from Brazilian Portuguese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French ipécacuana
  • ipécacuanaflowering plant
Polish wymiotnica, ipekakuana
  • wymiotnicaflowering plant
  • ipekakuanaflowering plant
Portuguese ipecacuanha
  • ipecacuanhaflowering plant
Russian ипекакуа́на
  • ипекакуа́на (ipekakuána)flowering plant
Tagalog ipekakwana
  • ipekakwanaflowering plant
Turkish altın kökü
  • altın köküflowering plant
Cite this entry
APA

ipecacuanha. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ipecacuanha

MLA

“ipecacuanha.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ipecacuanha. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ipecacuanha,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ipecacuanha.

Source: ipecacuanha on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.