† opium quirinaikn.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin opium quirrinacium.
Etymology: < post-classical Latin opium quirrinacium the gum resin of the plant silphium or laser (a1400), alteration of opium Cyrenaicum the plant silphium or laser or its resin (beginning of the 4th cent.) < classical Latin opium opium n. + Cȳrēnaicum , neuter singular of Cȳrēnaicus Cyrenaic adj.In post-classical Latin opium Cyrenaicum , opium may represent a confusion for ancient Greek ὀπός vegetable juice ( > post-classical Latin opos , 6th cent.; see opium n.).
Obsolete.
rare.
tr. Palladius (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iii. 1140 And in is kest This opium Quirinaik..In water first this opium relent Of sape until hit ha similitude.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
n.?1440