panacea

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A solution to all problems.

   A monorail will be a panacea for our traffic woes.

Simplified etymology

Panacea came through Latin from Greek panakeia, meaning a remedy for every disease. It derives from panakēs, “all-healing,” formed from pan, “all,” and akos, “remedy,” and was originally used of a plant believed to cure every illness. The broader sense “solution to every problem” appeared in the early 17th century.

From Latin panacēa, from Ancient Greek πανάκεια (panákeia), from πανακής (panakḗs, “all-healing”), from πᾶν (pân, “all”) (equivalent to English pan-) + ἄκος (ákos, “cure”).

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