Nostrum

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Nostrum \Nos"trum\ (-tr[u^]m), n.; pl. {Nostrums} (-tr[u^]mz).
     [Neut. sing. of L. noster ours, fr. nos we. See {Us}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A medicine, the ingredients of which are kept secret for
        the purpose of restricting the profits of sale to the
        inventor or proprietor; a quack medicine.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Any scheme or device proposed by a quack.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The incentives of agitators, the arts of impostors
              and the nostrums of quacks.           --Brougham.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Any scheme asserted to solve a problem, but with no
        objective basis for belief in its effectiveness; esp., in
        politics, a scheme or proposal likely to prove popular
        with voters.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  nostrum
       n 1: hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by
            the alchemists [syn: {panacea}, {cure-all}]
       2: patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable