expectorant

& s. [Lat, expect or ans, pr. par. of expectoro; French expectorant; Spanish ex pectorante.] A. As adj .: Having the quality or property of promoting discharges from the mucous membrane of the lungs or trachea. B. As substantive: Pharm . ( pl .): Medicinal substances which affect the mucous membrane of the pulmonary pa ages, and alter the quantity and quality of its secretion. They are divided into (1) drugs which are more or le stimulant on the vascular system- e . g ., ammonia, carbonate of ammonium, senega, squills, benzoic acid, balsam of Peru and of Tolu, storax, galbanum, myrrh and tar; (2) those which are sedative in their action, as ipecacuanha, tart a rated antimony, oxide of antimony; and (3) those that are used in the form of vapor-e. g., steam, which relaxes the membrane; the vapor of chlorine and of ammonia, which act as direct stimulants; and also the vapor of creosote and of carbolic acid. ( Gar rod: Mat. Med .) ěx-pěc-tor-āte, *ex-pec-tor-at, v . t . & i . [Lat. expect or at us , pa. par. of expectoro : ex out, and pectus (gen it. pectoris )=the breast; Fr. expectorer ; Sp. expectorar ; Ital. espettorare .] A. Transitive : 1. Lit .: To discharge or eject from the trachea or lungs by coughing, hawking, and spitting. B. Intransitive : 1740 1. Lit .: To eject or discharge matter from the lungs or trachea by coughing, hawking, and spitting. *2. Fig .: To make a clean breast, to confide. "Sir George came hither yesterday to expectorate with me, as he called it." -Walpole : Letters , i. 370 (1754). ěx-pěc-tor-ā-tion, s. [Fr., from Lat. expect or at us , pa. par. of expectoro ; Sp. expect or a cion .] 1. The act or proce of discharging or ejecting matter from the lungs or trachea, by coughing, hawking, and spitting. "When the expectoration goes on succe fully."- Ar buthnot : Diet , ch. iii. 2. The matter which is expectorated from the lungs, . IMG:content-1276.png:[blocks in formation] To expede letters : Scots Law : To write out the principal writ, and get it signeted, sealed, or otherwise completed. *ěx-pē-di-āte, v . t . [EXPEDITE.] To hasten, to expedite.