heroin

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a powerful, highly addictive opioid made from morphine, usually illegal and associated with a high risk of overdose and dependence

   The clinic provides evidence-based treatment for people dependent on heroin.

2. 2
   noun

   British medicine: pharmaceutical diamorphine used under strict medical control for severe pain

   The hospital administered heroin as diamorphine under specialist supervision.

3. 3
   noun

   obsolete: a spelling of heroine, meaning a female hero

   The eighteenth-century text praised its central character as a virtuous heroin.

From German Heroin, a late nineteenth-century trademark formed from heroisch, 'heroic,' or Greek heros, 'hero,' + the drug suffix -in. It was marketed as a medicine before its severe dependence and overdose risks were understood. The obsolete heroine spelling has a separate history.

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