/ ˈlɔːdənəm; NAmE / noun
[ U ] a drug made from opium . In the past, people used to take laudanum to reduce pain and anxiety, and to help them sleep.
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (applied to various preparations containing opium): modern Latin , the name given by Paracelsus to a costly medicament of which opium was believed to be the active ingredient; perhaps a variant of Latin ladanum from Greek ladanon , lēdanon , from lēdon mastic.