heroin

Term:  Heroin

Origin:  German word “heroisch” > Greek ηρωϊκός/heroicos (=heroic) >  because of its perceived euphoric effect upon a user.

Ήρως > ρώωμαι /roomai(=dash)

Coined: in 1898 as a trademark by Aktiengesellschaft Farbenfabriken (today the Bayer pharmaceutical company)  in 1898 (Germany), although heroin (diacetylmorphine) had been synthesized 23 years ago by the English chemist C. R. Alder Wright   in 1874, at St Mary’s Hospital, Medical School in London. Wright's invention did not lead to any further developments, and diacetylmorphine  became popular after it was independently re-synthesized 23 years later by another chemist, Felix Hoffmann. From 1898 through to 1910 diacetylmorphine was marketed as a non-addictive morphine substitute and cough suppressant. Bayer marketed the drug as a cure for morphine addiction before it was discovered that it rapidly metabolizes into morphine. As such, diacetylmorphine is essentially a quicker acting form of morphine.

Definition:

Heroin is a semi-synthetic opioid and highly addictive drug drug synthesized from morphine. As with other opiods, heroin is used as both an analgesic and recreational drug.