Oxymel (, ) is a mixture of honey and vinegar, historically used as a medicine.
Its name is often found in Renaissance (and later) pharmacopoeiae in Late Latin form as either a countable or uncountable noun. As a countable noun, it is spelled variously as (singular) oxymellus and oxymellis, and plural oxymeli and oxymelli.
Etymology and recipe
Cato the Elder describes it thus:
A wine made from vinegar and honey, which in Greece was called oxymel, (, hence [Latin] "oxymel"). It is made thus. Ten librasOne Roman pound libra = 328.9 g See: Ancient Roman units of measurement of honey with five heminasOne hemina = 273 ml See: Ancient Roman units of measurement of vinegar, which will be subsumed. Themison confused oxymel and hydromel. But hydromel wine is made from water and honey, hence the name. Its name recalls the creation of omphacomel, which is made from semi-dry [i.e. sharp] grapes and sweet honey, hence the name, . Hence what is called ["omphalic oil"], from sour olives which in Greek is called (?), and omphacium from grapes, commonly called agreste.
Use
In the 1593 work Enchiridion chirurgicum, oxymel was recommended as part of a treatment for ophthalmia.
Because Latin was (and is) still used widely in medical prescriptions, it was still known by this name in Victorian times:
Prescription: Lead acetate one grain. Dissolve in rose water, one ounce; and add undiluted oxymel, one drachm; tincture of opium, five minims; tincture of digitalis, ten minims. To be taken every four to six hours.
Modern use Clinical trials involving oxymel have investigated its impacts on chronic medical conditions including obesity although low sample sizes and lack of data mean that more research is needed before drawing conclusions.
See also Sekanjabin Switchel
References