noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The dried rhizome and roots of either of two tropical American plants (Cephaelis acuminata and Cephaelis ipecacuanha) of the madder family used especially as a source of emetine. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   a medicinal drug used to evoke vomiting (especially in cases of drug overdose or poisoning) wordnet
3. 3
   An emetic and expectorant drug that contains emetine and is prepared from ipecac especially as a syrup for use in treating accidental poisoning. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   The shrub that produces ipecac (Cephaelis ipecacuanha), native to Brazil and cultivated elsewhere. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

syrup of ipecac

Etymology

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

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.