Dictionary Definition
panacea n : hypothetical remedy for all ills or
diseases; once sought by the alchemists [syn: nostrum, cure-all]
User Contributed Dictionary
see Panacea
English
Etymology
From panacea#Latin < (panakeia) < (panakēs) "all-healing" < (pan-) "all" + (akos) "cure"Pronunciation
- , /ˌpæn.əˈsiː.ə/
- Rhymes with: -iə
Noun
Synonyms
Translations
remedy believed to cure all disease
something that will solve all problems
- German: Allheilmittel
- Polish: panaceum
- Spanish: panacea
particular plant
- Latin: panacēa
See also
Italian
Noun
Latin
Etymology
From (panakeia) < (panakēs) "all-healing" < (pan-) "all" + (akos) "cure"Noun
- A particular kind of plant, believed to cure all diseases.
- panacea, catholicon.
Spanish
Noun
Extensive Definition
In Greek
mythology, Panacea (Greek Πανάκεια, Panakeia) was the goddess
of healing. She was the daughter of Asclepius, god of
medicine, and the granddaughter of Apollo, god of
healing (among other things).
Panacea and her five sisters each performed a
facet of Apollo's art: Panacea was the goddess of cures, Iaso was the goddess
of recuperation,
Hygieia was
the goddess of disease
prevention, Aceso was the goddess
of recovery, Meditrina was
the goddess of longevity, and
Aglaea was the goddess of
natural beauty.
Panacea also had four brothers — Podaleirus, one
of the two kings of Tricca, who had a flair for diagnostics, and
Machaon,
the other king of Tricca, who was a master surgeon (these two took
part in the Trojan War until Machaon was killed by Penthesilea,
queen of the Amazons); Telesphoros,
who devoted his life to serving Asclepius; and Aratus, her
step-brother, who was a Greek hero and the
patron/liberator of Sicyon.
Panacea was said to have a poultice or potion with which she healed the
sick. This brought about the concept of the panacea in
medicine.
References
panacea in Breton: Panakeia
panacea in Bulgarian: Панацея
panacea in German: Panakeia
panacea in Modern Greek (1453-): Πανάκεια
panacea in Spanish: Panacea (mitología)
panacea in French: Panacée
panacea in Italian: Panacea
panacea in Dutch: Panacea
panacea in Japanese: パナケイア
panacea in Polish: Panakeja
panacea in Ukrainian: Панакея
Panacea also lived
in a small village occupied by indomitable Guals as depicted in the
many fabels of Asterix and Obelix