opium-eater

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a person who habitually consumes opium, especially for intoxication; an opium user or addict

   The memoir describes how an opium-eater's dependence gradually shaped his entire daily routine.

A compound of opium + eater. Eat once had a broader sense of consuming a substance, and opium was commonly swallowed as laudanum or pills as well as smoked. The term is now chiefly historical and should not replace person-first clinical language in current medical contexts.

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