LAUDANUM

laudanum, originally the name given by paracelsus to a famous medical preparation of his own composed of gold, pearls, &c. (_opera_, 1658, i. 492/2), but containing opium as its chief ingredient. the term is now only used for the alcoholic tincture of opium (_q.v._). the name was either invented by paracelsus from lat. _laudare_ to praise, or was a corrupted form of "ladanum" (gr. [greek: ledanon], from pers. _ladan_), a resinous juice or gum obtained from various kinds of the _cistus_ shrub, formerly used medicinally in external applications and as a stomachic, but now only in perfumery and in making fumigating pastilles, &c.