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catholicon

 
Dictionary: ca·thol·i·con   (kə-thŏl'ĭ-kŏn') pronunciation

n.
A universal remedy; a panacea.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin, from Greek katholikon, generic description, from neuter of katholikos, universal. See catholic.]


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(kuh-THOL-i-kuhn) pronunciation

noun
A panacea or cure-all.

Etymology
Via Latin from Greek katholikos (general), from kata (according to, by) + holou (whole). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sol- (whole) that gave us words such as solid, salute, save, salvo, and soldier.

Usage
"In the end, even the most intrusive measures will not be foolproof: there is no verification catholicon. But perfect verification is as illusory as it is unnecessary." — Bruce Van Voorst; Arms Control; Time (New York); Jul 31, 1989.


Thesaurus: catholicon
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noun

    Something believed to cure all human disorders: cure-all, panacea. See help/harm/harmless.

 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more