oxycodone

English

the chemical structure of oxycodone

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *-r̥

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-Hellenic *údōr

Ancient Greek ῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)

Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)lbor.

English hydro-

English oxy

English (hydr)oxy

English cod(eine)

German Ketonbor.

English ketone

English -one

English oxycodone

From (hydr)oxy + cod(eine) + -one.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɒk.siˈkəʊ.dəʊn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɑk.siˈkoʊˌdoʊn/

Noun

oxycodone (uncountable)

1. (organic chemistry, pharmacology) An addictive, semisynthetic opioid (trademark OxyContin) that is similar to morphine in effect and structure; C₁₈H₂₁NO₄.

   Synonyms: oxy, hillbilly heroin

   • 2013 June 4, Dwight Garner, “A Literary Mind, Under the Spell of Drugs and a MacBook”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 September 2025:

     They ingest Ambien, Seroquel, LSD, Adderall, Oxycodone, cocaine, Flexeril, Percocet, psilocybin mushrooms and codeine.

Derived terms

• noroxycodone
• oxycodoned
• oxycotton

Translations

powerful opioid analgesic

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 氧可酮 (yǎngkětóng), 羥考酮 / 羟考酮 (qiǎngkǎotóng)

• Finnish: oksikodoni (fi)
• French: oxycodone (fr)
• Greek: οξυκωδόνη (el) f (oxykodóni)
• Hungarian: oxikodon (hu)
• Turkish: oksikodon

References

• “oxycodone”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “oxycodone”, in Merriam-Webster Online, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1996–present.