Mescaline
/ˈmɛskəlaɪn/noun
A naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid found in peyote and some other cacti.
Did you know?The name comes from mescal, a Spanish form linked to the Nahuatl word for the agave plant, but the hallucinogenic compound itself was isolated and named in modern chemistry, not ancient ritual texts.
Etymological Timeline
Nahuatl (pre-Columbian)
Nah
mexcalli
“agave, or the cooked heart of the agave plant”
16th Century
Spanish
mezcal
“a distilled spirit made from agave”
19th Century
Spanish
mezcalina
“a form connected to mezcal; later used in chemical naming”
1890s
German/English
mescaline
“the alkaloid name formed in modern chemistry from mezcal”
Modern English
English
mescaline
“a psychedelic alkaloid from peyote and related cacti”