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DictionarynostrumDubious medicine
noun

nostrum

NAH-strum/ˈnɑːstrəm/

A supposed medicine promoted as a cure without reliable evidence.

The seller offers a bottled nostrum to an injured customer.

A remedy seller offers a bottled cure to an injured customer while secretly filling an identical bottle from an ordinary water tap beneath his counter.
Etymology
nostrumLatinour

'Our' in a phrase such as 'our remedy' presumably identified the seller's own preparation. A term for secret, often quack medicine then broadened to a pet scheme offered as a solution.

In context

Vivid Audio Library52:57
Poor Hippius, what may be his last nostrum. Nephew.
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel by George Meredith (Part 2) | Full Classic Victorian Novel Audiobook

More examples

  • She refuses to spend money on another nostrum for arthritis.
  • The ad claims this nostrum cures everything from headaches to cancer.
  • Doctors warn patients against replacing proven treatments with nostrums.

Forms

nostrum · nostrums

Similar words

remedy
Names a treatment without implying that its effectiveness is doubtful.
panacea
Suggests a cure for everything, not merely an unproven treatment.