patent medicine
US /ˈpæt.ənt ˌmed.ɪ.sɪn/
UK /ˈpæt.ənt ˌmed.ɪ.sɪn/
1.
a medicine made and sold under a patent and usually without a prescription, often with exaggerated claims of its effectiveness
:
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In the old West, traveling salesmen often peddled various patent medicines.
•
Many early patent medicines contained alcohol or opium.