- Today's Word
Panacea
pan-uh-SEE-uh
Definition
- (noun) A solution or remedy for all problems, difficulties, or diseases; a universal cure.
Example
While renewable energy is a significant step forward, it is not a panacea for all environmental challenges.
Fun Fact
“Panacea” originates from the Greek word panakeia, which combines pan- (“all”) and akos (“remedy”). In Greek mythology, Panacea was the goddess of healing and daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine. The term entered English during the 16th century to describe the mythical “universal cure” sought by alchemists and physicians. Although no such cure exists, the word has endured as a metaphor for overly simplistic solutions to complex problems.
(adjective) Lacking substance, interest, or mature thought; naive and simplistic in a way that reveals inexperience.
The critic dismissed the debut novel as jejune — competently written, technically adequate, and utterly devoid of anything worth remembering.
Jejune derives from the Latin jejunus, meaning “fasting” or “empty” — literally describing a stomach that has not been fed. The same root gives us jejunum, the section of the small intestine named for its tendency to be found empty after death. It entered English in the 17th century carrying its literal sense of emptiness before acquiring its figurative meaning of something intellectually or creatively hollow — content that has the form of nourishment without any of the substance.