PLACEBO

placebo

(noun) (Roman Catholic Church) vespers of the office for the dead

placebo

(noun) an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

placebo (plural placebos or placeboes)

(medicine) A dummy medicine containing no active ingredients; an inert treatment. [from 18th c.]

(Roman Catholicism) The vespers sung in the office for the dead. [from 13th c.]

Anagrams

• Obecalp

Source: Wiktionary


Pla*ce"bo, n. Etym: [L., I shall please, fut. of placere to please.]

1. (R. C. Ch.)

Definition: The first antiphon of the vespers for the dead.

2. (Med.)

Definition: A prescription intended to humor or satisfy. To sing placebo, to agree with one in his opinion; to be complaisant to. Chaucer.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

19 April 2025

CATCH

(verb) grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; “did you catch that allusion?”; “We caught something of his theory in the lecture”; “don’t catch your meaning”; “did you get it?”; “She didn’t get the joke”; “I just don’t get him”


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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