Opodeldoc - an etymological puzzle

摘要

IN MY very first job as a newly qualified pharmacist I was asked by an elderly customer for glycerin and opodeldoc. I made enquiries of the wise old dispensing assistant, who explained that opodeldoc was a synonym for soap liniment BP and that it was popular among the older generation for rubbing on chapped hands when mixed with an equal part of glycerin (or glycerol, as we must now call it). In its metric incarnation, opodeldoc's pharmacopoeial formula calls for powdered soap 60g, camphor 45g, oil of rosemary 10ml, alcohol 700ml and enough water to make it up to one litre.