bezoar

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: be=zoar

CIDE DICTIONARY

bezoar, n. [F. bézoard, fr. Ar. bāzahr, bādizahr, fr. Per. pād-zahr bezoar; pād protecting + zahr poison; cf. Pg. & Sp. bezoar.].

 A calculous concretion found in the intestines of certain ruminant animals (as the wild goat, the gazelle, and the Peruvian llama) formerly regarded as an unfailing antidote for poison, and a certain remedy for eruptive, pestilential, or putrid diseases. Hence: Any antidote or panacea.  [1913 Webster]
" Two kinds were particularly esteemed, the Bezoar orientale of India, and the Bezoar occidentale of Peru."  [1913 Webster]

Bezoar antelope. See Antelope. -- Bezoar goat (Zoöl.), the wild goat (Capra ægagrus). -- Bezoar mineral, an old preparation of oxide of antimony. Ure.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

bezoar, n. a small stone which may form in the stomachs of certain animals, esp. ruminants, and which was once used as an antidote for various ills.

Etymology

ult. f. Pers. padzahr antidote, Arab. bazahr