Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun Pharmacology.
- a white, crystalline, narcotic powder, C21H23NO5, derived from morphine, formerly used as an analgesic and sedative: manufacture and importation of heroin are now controlled by federal law in the U.S. because of the danger of addiction.
noun
- a white odourless bitter-tasting crystalline powder related to morphine: a highly addictive narcotic. Formula: C 21 H 23 NO 5Technical names: diamorphine, diacetylmorphine
1898, from German Heroin, coined 1898 as trademark registered by Friedrich Bayer & Co. for their morphine substitute, traditionally from Greek heros (see hero (n.1)) because of the euphoric feeling the drug provides, but no evidence for this seems to have been found so far.
A new hypnotic, to which the name of “heroin” has been given, has been tried in the medical clinic of Professor Gerhardt in Berlin. [“The Lancet,” Dec. 3, 1898]
n.
- A white, bitter, crystalline compound that is derived from morphine and is a highly addictive narcotic.diacetylmorphine
- A white, odorless, bitter crystalline compound, C17H17NO(C2H3O2)2, that is derived from morphine and is a highly addictive narcotic.