anodyne (anodin)

and n. [Early mod. E. also anodin, anodine, to [It] is, of any outward application I would venture to recommend, the most anodyne and safe. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, iv. 28. The anodyne draught of oblivion. Burke. II. n. A medicine or drug which relieves pain, as an opiate or a narcotic; hence, figuratively, anything that allays mental pain or distre . Mirth and opium, ratafia and tears, The daily anodyne , and nightly draught, To kill those foes to fair ones, time and thought. Pope , Moral E ays, ii. 111. His quiet animal nature acted as a pleasing anodyne to my... anxiety. O. W. Holmes , Old Vol. of Life, p. 43.