cocaine

Alternative forms

• cocain (dated)
• cocaïne (obsolete)

Etymology

From coca +‎ -ine, from Quechua kuka. First use appears c. 1874.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kə(ʊ)ˈkeɪn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /koʊˈkeɪn/, /ˈkoʊˌkeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Noun

cocaine (countable and uncountable, plural cocaines)

1. (uncountable, organic chemistry, pharmacology) An addictive drug derived from coca (Erythroxylum) or prepared synthetically, used sometimes medicinally as a local anesthetic and, often illegally, as a stimulant.

   Synonyms: blow, coke, girl, nose candy, powder, rock, slim, snow, snuff, white lady, yay; see also Thesaurus:cocaine

   • 1891 June 25, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Adventure I.—A Scandal in Bohemia.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume II, London: George Newnes, Limited, […], published July 1891, →OCLC:

     Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker-street, buried among his old books, and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature.

   • 1983, “Cold Coffee & Cocaine”, performed by Prince:

     All I get, uh, is this cup of cold coffee and cocaine / And your ugly face, look out

   • 1990, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Frank Urquhart (Ian Richardson):

     Cocaine’s awfully expensive stuff, isn't it? Is it worth it?

2. (countable) Any derivative of cocaine.

Further reading

• “cocaine”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “cocaine”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• cocaine on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Oceanic, oceanic

Noun

cocaine f

1. plural of cocaina

Anagrams

• acneico