# opium

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈoʊ.pi.əm/ · frequency rank #15,875

## Definitions
1. A yellow-brown, addictive narcotic drug obtained from the dried juice of unripe pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and containing alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine.
2. Anything that numbs or stupefies.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós
Ancient Greek ὀπός (opós)
Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.
Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)?
Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon)
Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor.
Latin opiumbor.
▲
Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor.
English opium
Borrowed from Latin opium and Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion), from ὀπός (opós, “juice of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós (“juice, resin”).

## Easily confused with
- **OPM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/opium-vs-opm)
- **opus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/opium-vs-opus)
- **optimum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/opium-vs-optimum)
- **OPI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/opi-vs-opium)
- **Opie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/opie-vs-opium)

## Common misspellings (6)
`oipum`, `opimu`, `opiumm`, `oppium`, `opuim`, `poium`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/opium