Dover's powder

Do·ver's powder

noun \ˈdō-vərz-\

Definition of DOVER'S POWDER

: a powder of ipecac and opium that is now compounded in the United States with lactose and in England with potassium sulfate and that is used as an anodyne and diaphoretic

Biographical Note for DOVER'S POWDER

Do·ver \ˈdō-vər\ , Thomas (1660–1742), British physician. A pupil of the eminent physician Thomas Sydenham, Dover made the unique choice of combining a medical career with that of a buccaneer. Constantly at odds with the medical establishment, he published in 1732 a volume of his nostrums, almost all of them worthless or worse, the exception being his sole legacy—Dover's powder.