El`a*te"ri*um (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. , neut. of driving. See 2d Elater.]
A cathartic substance obtained, in the form of yellowish or greenish cakes, as the dried residue of the juice of the wild or squirting cucumber (Ecballium agreste, formerly called Momordica Elaterium).
© Webster 1913.