Febrifuge
/ˈfiː.brɪ.fjuːdʒ/noun
A medicine that reduces fever.
Did you know?Febrifuge comes from Latin febris “fever” + fugere “to flee,” so the word’s core image is fever being forced to run away.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰeudʰ-
“to flee, escape”
Latin
Latin
febris
“fever, feverish illness”
Latin
Latin
febrifugus
“fever-dispelling”
Late Latin
Latin
febrifugium
“a remedy for fever”
16th Century
English
febrifuge
“a medicine that reduces fever”
Modern English
English
febrifuge
“a fever-reducing drug”