Tonic Water Contains Quinine, an Antimalarial
A tonic restores vigour. Tonic water began as a way of taking bitter antimalarial medicine.
A tonic is something that restores strength, and in music the home note of a key. Tonic water earned its name honestly: it was invented to make quinine drinkable. British officials in India took quinine against malaria, found it unbearably bitter, and mixed it with sugar, water and gin — which is where the gin and tonic comes from. Modern tonic water contains far less quinine, but enough to glow under ultraviolet light. Greek *tonos* meant tension or tone.
- A restorative. *A healthy tonic.*
- Tonic water. *Gin and tonic.*
- The home note. *The tonic of the key.*
- Quinine — the bitter ingredient. *Quinine.*
- Greek — *tonos*, tension. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tonic | A tonic. |
| Adjective | tonic | A tonic effect. |
| Compound | tonic water | Tonic water. |
| Music | tonic | The tonic. |
| Greek | tonos | Tension. |
- The holiday was a real tonic.Restorative.
- Gin and tonic, please.Drink.
- The piece returns to the tonic.Music.
The tonos family
- Tonic — restoring tone or tension
- Tone — a musical sound, or muscle firmness
- Tune — a variant of tone
- Monotone — a single unvarying tone
- Catatonic — from a Greek term meaning stretched down
Greek *tonikos*, of or for stretching, from *tonos*, tension, from *teinein*, to stretch.
Why does tonic water contain quinine?
It was created to make quinine, taken against malaria, palatable. Sugar, water and gin disguised the bitterness.
Does tonic water glow under UV light?
Yes. The quinine fluoresces bright blue under ultraviolet light, even at modern low concentrations.