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An expectorant is a medicine that makes it easier to cough up the thick, sticky stuff (phlegm, or ) sitting in your chest. It does not stop your cough — it does the opposite. It the phlegm so that when you cough, something actually comes out and your chest feels clearer. This is worth being careful about, because cough medicines split into two opposite kinds: an expectorant helps you cough productively, and a cough suppressant (or 'cough medicine' in the loose everyday sense) stops you coughing. Take the wrong one and you may feel worse. The word is a noun and also an adjective ('an expectorant syrup'). It belongs to pharmacies, drug labels and doctors — nobody says it at home. A patient in Taiwan or in Britain would just say 'the medicine for bringing up phlegm' or read the box. The most common one you will actually see named is guaifenesin.
祛痰藥（袪痰劑）。台灣藥袋、藥師口中會寫「化痰藥」，一般人講「化痰的」；跟「止咳藥」是相反的東西，別搞混。
組成expectorate（把痰咳出來）+ -ant（表示「做這件事的東西／人」的字尾）。expectorate 本身是拉丁文 ex（出去）+ pectus（胸口）——「從胸口出來」。
同家族的字
- expectoratethe verb this is built from — to cough phlegm out
- pectoralsame Latin pectus 'chest' — the pectoral muscles are chest muscles
- deodorantsame -ant ending: a thing that does the job of the verb
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
expectorantnoun
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medicinesciencesAn agent or drug used to cause or induce the expulsion of phlegm from the lungs.
- The disease was regarded as pneumonia so far advanced that suppuration seemed to have supervened; bleeding, blisters, expectorants, and cathartics diminished the symptoms; the pulse continued frequent, hard, full, but always regular.
- The bedside table is littered with both OTC and prescription expectorants and pertussives and analgesics and Vitamin-C megaspansules[…]
expectorantadj
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medicinesciencesCausing or assisting the expulsion of phlegm.
- an expectorant preparation
- ‘Matchett says there’s old Mr P. who made all the money with ’is cought mixture—’ ‘Not Parkinsons ex . . . something?’ asked Jessamy. ‘That’s it,’ nodded Sarah, ‘ “Hexpectorant Posset”.’
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。