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Concoction is the process of preparing a medicine, food or other substance out of many ingredients, and also the result of such a process.
Historically, the word referred to
Concoction is the process of preparing a medicine, food or other substance out of many ingredients, and also the result of such a process.
Historically, the word referred to digestion
Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intest ...
, as conceived by Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
who theorized that this was the result of the heat of the body acting upon the material, causing it to mature and ripen.
The term later came to refer to liquid broth
Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...
s, cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...
s and potions which are similarly formed by heating or blending multiple ingredients. Concoctions that were made in apothecaries, or as used in traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before th ...
, , rather than nourishment or pleasure (in which case it would be cookery or cuisine). In a medical context, such concoctions have largely been superseded by modern medicine.
In modern usage, the term may refer more loosely to any mixture of various ingredients, including soups and cocktails
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...
, or abstract ingredients, such as design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
elements in architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
or fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...
, or an elaborate excuse.
In such uses, the term often retains a connotation
A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.
A connotation is frequently described as either positive o ...
that the mixture is strange, unusual, or elaborate.
References
{{reflist Chemical mixtures History of pharmacy Biologically-based therapies Traditional medicine