Ritalin

name

name ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    central nervous system stimulant (trade name Ritalin) used in the treatment of narcolepsy in adults and attention deficit disorder in children wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    methylphenidate, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder uncountable
  2. 2
    The original brand name version of methylphenidate (“ritalin”).

Synonyms

All synonyms
methylphenidate

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Rita + -lin. Coined by chemist Leandro Panizzon, who synthesized it. Named after Marguerite Panizzon, wife of Leandro. Ritalin, a trade name from the 1940s. Genericization of the trademark.

Etymology 2

Rita + -lin. See ritalin.

Related phrases

ritalinic acidattention deficit hyperactivity disorder

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