# theriac

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈθɪriˌæk/

## Definitions
1. A universal antidote against all poisons, particularly medicines considered to derive from a recipe of the Roman physician Andromachus and representing an improvement on mithridate.
2. A hyponym of panacea.
3. Synonym of antidote, particularly (pseudoscience) those incorporating snakemeat to cure snakebite.
4. Synonym of molasses.

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin theriacum, from Ancient Greek θηριακὸν (thēriakòn) and Late Latin theriaca, from Ancient Greek θηριακὴ (thēriakḕ, “of or related to poisonous reptiles”), from θηρίον (thēríon, “little beast”) + -κός (-kós), from θήρ (thḗr, “beast”) + -ίον (-íon, diminutive suffix). Doublet of theriaca.

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