anodyne

Etymology

From Medieval Latin anōdynos (“stilling or relieving pain”), from Ancient Greek ἀνώδυνος (anṓdunos, “free from pain”), from ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ὀδύνη (odúnē, “pain”).

Adjective sense “noncontentious” probably through French anodin (“harmless, trivial”), of same origin.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæn.ə.daɪn/
• Rhymes: -aɪn

Adjective

anodyne (comparative more anodyne, superlative most anodyne)

1. (pharmacology) Capable of soothing or eliminating pain. [from 16th c.]
   • 1847, Littell's Living Age, number 161, 12 June 1847, in Volume 13, page 483:

     Many a time has the vapor of ether been inhaled for the relief of oppressed lungs; many a time has the sought relief been thus obtained; and just so many times has the discovery of the wonderful anodyne properties of this gas, as affecting all bodily suffering, been brushed past and overlooked.

   • 1910, Edward L. Keyes, Diseases of the Genito-Urinary Organs, page 211:

     The citrate is the most efficient as an alkali, but irritates some stomachs, the liquor the most anodyne, the acetate the most diuretic.

2. (figuratively) Soothing or relaxing. [from 18th c.]

   Classical music is rather anodyne.

3. Noncontentious, blandly agreeable, unlikely to cause offence or debate. [from 20th c.]

   Synonyms: bland, inoffensive, noncontentious

   • 2003, The Guardian, 20 May 2003:

     It all became so routine, so anodyne, so dull.

   • 2010, "Rattled", The Economist, 9 Dec 2010:

     States typically like to stick to anodyne messages, like saving wildflowers or animals. But every so often a controversy crops up.

Noun

anodyne (plural anodynes)

1. (pharmacology) Any medicine or other agent that relieves pain.
2. (figuratively) A source of relaxation or comfort.
   • 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. VII:

     The air was heavy with the perfume of the flowers, and their beauty seemed to bring him an anodyne for his pain.

   • 1929, Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own, page 79:

     So, with a sigh, because novels so often provide an anodyne and not an antidote, glide one into torpid slumbers instead of rousing one with a burning brand.

References

• anodyne in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “anodyne” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2018.

Anagrams

• annoyed

Adjective

anodyne

1. feminine of anodyn

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aˈnoː.dy.ne/, [aˈnoː.dʏ.nɛ]

Adjective

anōdyne

1. vocative masculine singular of anōdynos or anōdynus