LAUDANUM  , originally the name given by

Paracelsus to a famous medical preparation of his own composed of gold, pearls, &c . (Opera, 1658, i . 492/2), but containing opium as its chief ingredient . The term is now only used for the alcoholic tincture of opium (q.v.) . The name was either invented by Paracelsus from Lat. laudare to praise, or was a corrupted form of " ladanum " (Gr . Xi76avov, from Pers. ladan), a resinous juice or gum obtained from various kinds of the Cistus shrub, formerly used medicinally in external applications and as a stomachic, but now only in perfumery and in making fumigating pastilles, &c .