aspirin English · revision 1193

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈæs.p(ɪ.)ɹɪn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈæs.pɹɪn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined in German in 1899 as a trademark, ''Aspirin'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''A''- for ''acetyl'' and ''Spirsäure'', an old name for [[salicylic acid]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) with the chemical suffix [[-in]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) ''Spirsäure'' comes from [[la-new|Spiraea]], the meadowsweet, from which the acid was first obtained.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) Etymonline credits the name to the chemist Heinrich Dreser.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A white crystalline compound, acetylsalicylic acid, used to relieve pain and fever (1899).^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By extension the word also means a tablet of the drug.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989) The name was originally a trademark.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1899 – coined in German; first recorded in English.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A white crystalline compound, [[acetylsalicylic acid]], used to relieve pain, fever and [[inflammation]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A tablet of aspirin.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spiral]]

+ * [[spirea]]

+ * [[acetyl]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Merriam-Webster gives both ''aspirin'' and ''aspirins'' as plurals.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}