heroin Hear it!

heroin definition

hero·in (her′ō in)

noun

a white, crystalline powder, an acetyl derivative of morphine, CHNO(CHO): it is a very powerful, habit-forming narcotic whose manufacture and import are prohibited in the U.S.

Etymology: Ger, orig., trademark: coined (1898) by H. Dreser, Ger chemist < Gr hērōs, hero + Ger -in, -ine: ? because of euphoric effect

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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