potable gold

English

Etymology

From potable +‎ gold. From being something drinkable that is like gold.

  • (alchemy): from being an elixir that confers the untarnishability and eternity of gold to a person

Noun

potable gold (uncountable)

  1. (alchemy) A theoretical substance which would confer eternal life on the drinker.
    • 2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 60:
      This tradition found its way to the West in the notion of ‘potable gold’ (aurum potabile), a medicine that, if drunk, would cure all manner of ills.
  2. (historical) A preparation consisting of gold particles in oil and alcohol.
    • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 234:
      The tincture of the gold known as Mademoiselle Grimaldi's potable gold had a wide reputation in the eighteenth century as an aphrodisiac stimulant.

Synonyms

Translations

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Translations to be checked

See also

  • colloidal gold
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