physostigmine

P3H4Y4S1O1S1T1I1G2M3I1N1E1
UK/ˌfʌɪ.səʊˈstɪɡ.miːn/US/ˌfaɪ.səˈstɪɡˌmin/

noun

A parasympathomimetic, a reversible cholinesterase inhibitor alkaloid of the Calabar bean, used to treat certain medical conditions.

UncommonFirst used 19th c.Scrabble 24
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Meanings

nounphysostigmine (countable and uncountable, plural physostigmines)

plural physostigmines

  1. countableuncountablebiochemistryA parasympathomimetic, a reversible cholinesterase inhibitor alkaloid of the Calabar bean, used to treat certain medical conditions.First known use 19th c.

    The substance is physostigmine, a drug first isolated from the Calabar bean (Physostigmine venenosum), a climbing liana that grows in swampy coastal areas of West Africa from Sierra Leone south and east as far as the Cameroons.

    1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 40

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
eserine

Origin

From translingual Physostigma venenosum (“the Calabar bean”) + -ine.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

physostigmine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physostigmine

MLA

“physostigmine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physostigmine. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “physostigmine,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physostigmine.

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