ONLINE
ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY:
- morphine (n.)
- chief alkaloid of opium, 1828, from Fr. morphine or Ger. Morphin (1816), name coined by German apothecary Friedrich Sertürner (1783-1840) in reference to L. Morpheus, Ovid's name for the god of dreams, from Gk. morphe "form, shape, beauty, outward appearance," perhaps from PIE *merph-, a possible Greek root meaning "form," of unknown origin. So called because of the drug's sleep-inducing properties.
WIKIPEDIA
Morphine
is a potent
opiate analgesic
drug that is used to
relieve severe pain. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich
Sertürner, first distributed by him in 1817, and first
commercially sold by Merck
in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was
more widely used after the invention of the hypodermic
needle in 1857. It took its name from the Greek god of dreams
Morpheus
(Greek:
Μορφέας).[2]
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