What does barbituric mean?
"Barbituric" is a technical adjective relating to barbituric acid, the crystalline parent compound from which the barbiturate family of sedative and hypnotic drugs is derived. First prepared by German chemist Adolf von Baeyer in the 1860s, barbituric acid is essentially inert on its own, but chemical modifications to its molecular structure yield powerful central-nervous-system depressants such as phenobarbital and secobarbital. The word therefore belongs chiefly to the vocabulary of organic chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, where phrases like "barbituric acid" and the "barbituric nucleus" describe the shared molecular scaffold of these compounds. It should not be confused with "barbiturate," which refers to the active drugs themselves rather than the underlying acid. Because of the historical decline of barbiturates in favor of safer alternatives such as benzodiazepines, "barbituric" appears today mostly in scientific literature and historical accounts of twentieth-century medicine, rather than in everyday speech.
adjectiveRelating to or derived from barbituric acid, a crystalline compound first synthesised in the 1860s that forms the chemical basis of the class of sedative drugs known as barbiturates.
- Of or relating to barbituric acid, the parent compound of the barbiturate drugs.
"The chemist modified the barbituric ring structure to produce a shorter-acting sedative."
"Barbituric acid itself has no sedative effect; only its derivatives do."
"Substituting atoms at the fifth carbon of the barbituric nucleus alters the drug's duration of action."
The name may honor St. Barbara: legend has it that chemist Adolf von Baeyer synthesised barbituric acid on her feast day in 1864.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barbituric
The adjective "barbituric" derives from barbituric acid, first synthesised by Adolf von Baeyer in 1864. According to a widely repeated account, Baeyer coined the name in connection with St. Barbara's Day, possibly because he completed the synthesis around that date or was celebrating with fellow chemists in a tavern; the "-uric" element reflects the compound's relation to urea, from Greek "ouron" (urine). The related term "barbiturate" emerged later to designate the class of drugs derived from the acid.
Related word forms
How barbituric is actually used
A technical term used almost exclusively in chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine. It nearly always appears as part of "barbituric acid" rather than standing alone.
Easily confused with barbituric
"Barbituric" is an adjective describing the parent compound barbituric acid, while a "barbiturate" is any of the actual sedative drugs derived from it.