A prescription painkiller medication (meperidine) used to treat moderate to severe pain.
Demerol is a brand name created by Winthrop Laboratories in 1932 for the drug meperidine. The name is a registered trademark derived from its chemical composition. It became widely used in hospitals and medical settings throughout the 20th century.
Demerol is actually a brand name—like calling all tissues 'Kleenex'—but it became so common that doctors still use the trademark name even though the generic 'meperidine' exists; it's a perfect example of a brand that conquered the language.
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