What does amitriptyline mean?
Amitriptyline is a medication belonging to the class of drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants, named for their three-ring chemical structure. Introduced around 1960, it was long a mainstay treatment for depression, working chiefly by increasing the levels of serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain. Although newer antidepressants have largely displaced it for that purpose, amitriptyline remains widely prescribed at much lower doses to prevent migraines and to ease chronic neuropathic pain, including fibromyalgia and pain following shingles. Its most common side effects are drowsiness, dry mouth, and weight gain, which is why it is usually taken at night. In medical writing the word functions as an uncountable noun denoting the substance itself, discussed in terms of dosage and course of treatment. For general readers, the term is worth knowing because it appears frequently in prescriptions and health reporting, where 'low-dose amitriptyline' has become a familiar phrase in discussions of persistent pain.
nounAmitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant drug used to treat depression, and widely prescribed at low doses to prevent migraine and relieve certain kinds of chronic nerve pain.
- The tricyclic antidepressant drug amitriptyline, used to treat depression and, at lower doses, migraine prevention and chronic neuropathic pain.
"Her neurologist prescribed a low dose of amitriptyline to reduce the frequency of her migraines."
"Amitriptyline was first approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder in the early 1960s."
"Because it can cause drowsiness, amitriptyline is usually taken in the evening before bed."
As a mass noun naming a chemical substance, amitriptyline has no plural form; quantities are expressed with measures rather than plurals.
"Patients typically begin on a small nightly dose of amitriptyline and increase gradually if needed."
Developed in the late 1950s and once among the world's most prescribed antidepressants, amitriptyline today is more often given for migraines and nerve pain than for depression itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of amitriptyline
Amitriptyline is a modern pharmaceutical coinage dating from the late 1950s, when Swiss researchers at Geigy developed it alongside other tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine. Its name combines 'ami-' (reflecting its amine-containing side chain) with '-triptyline', a suffix shared by structurally related three-ringed compounds such as nortriptyline. It was introduced into clinical use in the early 1960s and became one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants of the twentieth century.
How amitriptyline is actually used
Strictly a medical and pharmacological term; it appears almost exclusively in clinical, pharmaceutical, and patient-information contexts rather than everyday conversation. It is a countable mass noun referring to the substance, typically discussed by dose (e.g. '10 mg of amitriptyline').
Easily confused with amitriptyline
Nortriptyline is a closely related tricyclic antidepressant — actually the main metabolite of amitriptyline — but it is a distinct drug with its own dosing and side-effect profile.