What does vomito mean?
Vomito is a rare, chiefly archaic English noun for an emetic: a substance, drug, or preparation used to make someone vomit. It comes from Latin vomitus, meaning “vomiting,” and was used especially in historical medical and pharmaceutical contexts. Ipecac, a plant preparation long used to induce vomiting, is a familiar example of the kind of substance that might have been called a vomito. Although the word can still be found in older dictionaries and specialist literature, modern speakers are much more likely to use emetic. It should not be confused with vomit, which is the material expelled from the stomach. Vomit is the result of the act, while a vomito is an agent intended to produce that act. The word is useful chiefly as a historical term that illustrates the vocabulary of earlier medicine and the development of modern pharmacological terminology.
nounA substance or drug used to induce vomiting; an emetic. The word is now chiefly archaic or historical.
- A substance, especially a drug, used to induce vomiting.
"The physician administered a mild vomito to empty the patient's stomach."
"The physician administered a mild vomito to empty the patient's stomach."
"The pharmacopoeia described the preparation as a powerful vomito."
The plural is rare because the noun itself survives mainly in archaic and historical usage.
"The dispensary stocked several vomitos."
A vomito was medicine with one blunt job: make the stomach empty.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vomito
Vomito derives from Latin vomitus, meaning “vomiting” or “a vomiting,” which in turn comes from the Latin verb vomere, “to vomit.” It entered English as a learned medical term during the early modern period. Its relatives include the standard English word vomit and the now less common vomitory and vomitive.
How vomito is actually used
This is a rare, chiefly archaic term encountered in older medical and pharmaceutical writing. In modern English, emetic is the usual term.
Easily confused with vomito
Vomit is the material expelled from the stomach, whereas a vomito is a substance taken specifically to cause vomiting.