Bezoar
Bezoar ({not transcribed}) , noun
[French bézoard, from Arabic bāzahr, bādizahr, from Per. pād-zahr bezoar; pād protecting + zahr poison; compare Portuguese & Sp. bezoar.]
A calculous concretion found in the intestines of certain ruminant animals (as the wild goat, the gazelle, and the Peruvian llama) formerly regarded as an unfailing antidote for poison, and a certain remedy for eruptive, pestilential, or putrid diseases. Hence: Any antidote or panacea.
Two kinds were particularly esteemed, the Bezoar orientale of India, and the Bezoar occidentale of Peru.
Collocations (3)
Bezoar antelope , See Antelope.
Bezoar goat (Zoology) , the wild goat (Capra agagrus).
Bezoar mineral , an old preparation of oxide of antimony. — Ure