Elixir
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ElixirByYousufKarsh.jpg
ElixirByYousufKarsh.jpg
Elixir, by Yousuf Karsh, 1938
Elixir has several meanings:
- In alchemy, an elixir was a substance believed to be able to change base metals into gold. Other properties were also attributed to such elixirs, such as increasing human longevity. The Philosopher's stone and the elixir vitae overlap in some traditions. See also: Philosopher's_stone
- In medicine, an elixir is a liquid containing some sort of medicinal drug together with syrup, glycerine or alcohol to mask the unpleasant taste. See: tincture
- An elixir can also be anything that purports to be a sovereign remedy (that is, a remedy that can cure virtually everything). See: Universal panacea
- Gaetano Donizetti's most successful comic opera was The Elixir of Love (L'Elisir d'Amore).