Definition of "calomel" [cal•o•mel]

• A colorless, white or brown tasteless compound, Hg2Cl2, used as a purgative and insecticide. Also called mercurous chloride. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In the nineteenth century, a mercury compound called calomel was used to treat everything from tuberculosis and parasites to toothaches and constipation."
• "A mercury-containing powder called calomel was given to babies for teething pains in the 1940s and caused pink disease a syndrome that included cognitive and psychiatric disorders that mimicked autism."
• "In a general way, treatment for this sort of headache consists in the use of a cathartic, such as calomel (three-fifths of a grain) at night, followed by a Seidlitz powder or a tablespoonful of Epsom salts in a glass of cold water in the morning."