colocynth

Meaning

Noun

• A viny plant, Citrullus colocynthis, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. It produces a lemon-sized, yellowish, green-mottled, spongy, and extremely bitter fruit.
• The powdered pulp of this fruit, a powerful hepatic stimulant and hydragogue cathartic used as a strong laxative.

Related

Similar words

• bitter apple, bitter cucumber, egusi, vine of Sodom, desert gourd

Origin

• From Latin colocynthis, from Ancient Greek κολοκυνθίς, ultimately Pre-Greek.