thalidomide

English

Alternative forms

• phthalidomide

Etymology

From (ph)thal(ic acid) + (im)ido + (i)mide

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θəˈlɪdəˌmaɪd/

Noun

thalidomide (countable and uncountable, plural thalidomides)

1. (pharmacology) A drug sold during the late 1950s and early 1960s as a sleeping aid, and to pregnant women as an antiemetic to combat morning sickness and other symptoms, but withdrawn as causing severe birth defects, such as phocomelia; currently used to treat leprosy.
   • 1988, E[dward] J[ames] Moran Campbell, Not Always on the Level, [London]: British Medical Journal, →ISBN, page 194:

     I have tried all the medium and short acting non-barbiturate sedatives since the war (including thalidomide) but they don’t work and I don’t trust the newfangled long acting, “safe” analgesics.

   • 2001, “Left Behind”, performed by Slipknot:

     I can't stand to see your thalidomide robot face

Synonyms

• (RS)-2-(2,6-dioxopiperidin-3-yl)-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)dione — C₁₃H₁₀N₂O₄

Hypernyms

• teratogen

Derived terms

• flid
• thalidomide baby
• thalidomide child

Translations

drug

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 反應停／反应停

• Esperanto: talidomido
• Finnish: talidomidi (fi)
• French: thalidomide (fr)
• German: Thalidomid, Contergan (de) n
• Greek: θαλιδομίδη (el) f (thalidomídi)
• Portuguese: talidomida (pt) f
• Russian: талидоми́д (ru) m (talidomíd)

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

thalidomide f (uncountable)

1. (pharmacology) thalidomide

Further reading

• “thalidomide”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.