versterkdruppels, noun

/fə(r)ˈstɛrkˌdrəp(ə)lz//fə(r)ˈstɛrkˌdrəpəls/
Forms:
Also versterkende druppels, versterkende droppels.
Plurals:
unchanged.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, literally ‘strengthening drops’, versterk to strengthen, fortify + druppels drops.
a. noncount. A liquid patent medicine used for the treatment of a range of ailments including heart-complaints and nervous tension, and taken in the form of drops mixed with another liquid. b. plural. Drops of this medicine. See also druppels.
1919 Dunell, Ebden & Co.’s Price List Oct. 20Versterk Droppels 3/6.
[1937 C.R. Prance Tante Rebella’s Saga 185She and Christiaan had tried truly everything. They had both taken ‘Strength-Drops’ from the Home-Medicine chest.]
1949 L.G. Green In Land of Afternoon 44It will be a transformed countryside indeed when the last bottle of ‘Versterk Druppels’ is sold.
1958 E.H. Burrows Hist. of Medicine 191Versterk(ende) droppels (lit. Strengthening Drops): used as a tonic for persons ‘run down’, nervous or with general debility — a few drops in a goblet of wine.
1963 A.M. Louw 20 Days 260‘Calm yourself, my old husband,’ said old Susanna, handing him a small glass of wine and versterkdruppels.
1969 Post 16 Feb.Brighten your life with..Versterkdruppels. The most trusted name in Dutch Medicines.
1974 Y. Burgess in S. Gray On Edge of World 23The triangular wall-cabinet where she kept, among other remedies, the groenamare for her cramps, the versterkdruppels for her nerves, and the rooi laventel for her heart.
1989 D. Smuts Folk Remedies 22Childlessness,..1 bottle old port wine,..1 small bottle versterkdruppels, 1 small bottle phosphorine...This person I know of hadn’t even finished the bottle..before she conceived.
1991 [see quot. at krampdruppels druppels sense b i].
A liquid patent medicine used for the treatment of a range of ailments including heart-complaints and nervous tension, and taken in the form of drops mixed with another liquid.
Drops of this medicine.
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Verreaux’s eagle, noun phrasen. phr.vervet, nounn.
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