# heroin

Pronunciation: say "HE-roh-in" US /ˈhɛɹoʊ.ɪn/, UK /ˈhɛɹəʊ.ɪn/

## Noun

1. A strongly addictive drug made from morphine, itself derived from opium, that produces intense euphoria and is outlawed as a narcotic across most of the world.
   - Simple: A strong drug made from opium that makes people feel very happy, is hard to quit, and is illegal in most countries.
   - _The clinic offers treatment to people addicted to heroin and other opioids._
   - _Investigators warned that heroin sold in the city was being laced with fentanyl._

## Noun

2. Obsolete form of heroine. *(obsolete)* — Obsolete form of heroine.
   - Simple: Obsolete form of heroine. Today this meaning is spelled heroine.

## Origin

From German Heroin, originally a trademark from the 1890s, formed from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, "hero") and the suffix -in ("-ine"). It is said to have been named to suggest its quick, sweeping effect as a painkiller and cough medicine, though it has also been explained as a reference to the heroic school of medicine.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heroin (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).