Hematocathartic

/ˌhɛmətəkɑrˈθɑrtɪk/ adjective

Definition

Relating to or promoting the purification or cleansing of blood through medical treatment or bloodletting.

Etymology

From 'hematocatharsis' + '-ic' suffix. Used to describe treatments that aimed to purify or cleanse the blood according to older medical theory.

Kelly Says

Medieval doctors would describe bloodletting as 'hematocathartic'—they truly believed this would balance your 'humors' and cure you, a perfect example of how scientific-sounding language doesn't guarantee correct science!

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.