panacea
nounUK /ˌpænəˈsiːə/ · /ˌpæn.əˈsiː.ə/
Etymology From Latin panacēa, from Ancient Greek πανάκεια (panákeia), from πανακής (panakḗs, “all-healing”), from πᾶν (pân, “all”) (equivalent to English pan-) + ἄκος (ákos, “cure”).
1
A remedy believed to cure all disease and prolong life that was originally sought by alchemists; a cure-all.
2
A solution to all problems.
- A monorail will be a panacea for our traffic woes.
- When busy he was better, and appeared to think perpetual motion a panacea for his unnamed and un-nameable complaint; and so much were they hurried from place to place, after their arrival at Genoa, that both sisters were thankful when they embarked again, as the sea appeared a resting-place...1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXVII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 53:
3 more examples
- Podson was seated on the bed, going through such turf forecasts as he could find in the papers; his panacea for correcting the mistakes of fortune.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 206:
- Hydrogen is not a panacea for reaching the zero net emissions target by 2050, but it can grow to become "a big niche" fuel in particular sectors and applications, claims a new report.2023 January 11, “Network News: MPs seek clarity on hydrogen's role”, in RAIL, number 974, page 13:
- But dollarization is not a panacea for Argentina’s crisis-stricken economy, analysts say.2023 October 23, Anna Cooban, “Javier Milei wants Argentina to swap the peso for the US dollar. Here’s what that could mean”, in CNN Business:
3
Obsolete The plant allheal (Valeriana officinalis), believed to cure all ills.
- There, whether it diuine Tobacco were, / Or Panachæa, or Polygony, / She found, and brought it to her patient deare […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- Synonyms
- catholicon, cure-all, elixir, wonder drug, miracle cure, theriac, balm of Gilead, miracle, magic bullet, silver bullet, allheal, woundwort
- Related terms
- nostrum
- Hyponyms
- mithridate and theriac