Hypertext Webster Gateway: "nostrum"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Nostrum \Nos"trum\ (-tr[u^]m), n.; pl. {Nostrums} (-tr[u^]mz).
[Neut. sing. of L. noster ours, fr. nos we. See {Us}.]
1. A medicine, the ingredients of which are kept secret for
the purpose of restricting the profits of sale to the
inventor or proprietor; a quack medicine.
2. Any scheme or device proposed by a quack.
The incentives of agitators, the arts of impostors
and the nostrums of quacks. --Brougham.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
nostrum
n 1: hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by
the alchemists [syn: {panacea}, {cure-all}]
2: patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable
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