potable gold
nounEtymology From potable + gold. From being something drinkable that is like gold. * (alchemy): from being an elixir that confers the untarnishability and eternity of gold to a person
1
Alchemy, Pseudoscience A theoretical substance which would confer eternal life on the drinker.
- This tradition found its way to the West in the notion of ‘potable gold’ (aurum potabile), a medicine that, if drunk, would cure all manner of ills.2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 60:
2
Historical A preparation consisting of gold particles in oil and alcohol.
- The tincture of the gold known as Mademoiselle Grimaldi's potable gold had a wide reputation in the eighteenth century as an aphrodisiac stimulant.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 234:
- Synonyms
- elixir of life
- Related terms
- colloidal gold