Be″zoar (�), n. [F. bézoard, fr. Ar. bāzahr, bādizahr, fr. Per. pād-zahr bezoar; pād protecting + zahr poison; cf. Pg. & Sp. bezoar.] A calculous concretion found in the intestines of certain ruminant animals (as the wild goat, the gazelle, and the Peruvian llama) formerly regarded as an unfailing antidote for poison, and a certain remedy for eruptive, pestilential, or putrid diseases. Hence: Any antidote or panacea.
☞ Two kinds were particularly esteemed, the Bezoar orientale of India, and the Bezoar occidentale of Peru.
Bezoar antelope. See Antelope. — Bezoar goat(Zoöl.), the wild goat (Capra ægagrus). — Bezoar mineral, an old preparation of oxide of antimony. Ure.