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I'm looking for the word that describes a tea making coughing more productive. Is there any concise word for that?

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What does "native name" exactly mean, in this question? – kiamlaluno Feb 12 '11 at 17:22
@kiam sorry, made it clearer now. – Johannes Schaub - litb Feb 12 '11 at 19:11
I'm confused. How did "tea that stops the cause of coughing" become "a tea making coughing more productive?" What is being produced, phlegm? More to the point, wouldn't making an activity stop also make that activity more productive, in most circumstances? – user867 Feb 12 at 5:12
How can you have a concise word? Isn't a word by itself as concise as something can be? – alexy13 yesterday

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Most teas that help fight cough symptoms are simply herbal teas. However, a term that encompasses all cough-treating substances is expectorant.

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Expectorant refers to something that helps your cough be more productive. It doesn't stop your cough. – Marthaª Feb 12 '11 at 18:19
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@Martha yes I meant such things. Stuff that makes cough more productive. Not just inhibiting it. – Johannes Schaub - litb Feb 12 '11 at 18:55
@Martha: I'm sorry but I'll have to strongly disagree with you on this one. Expectorants do treat cough by expelling phlegm from the nasal cavity, which is actually the root cause of coughing. You can ask the medical experts for enlightenment on this. All cough syrups are known as expectorants. – Jimi Oke Feb 12 '11 at 19:24
@Martha: Not incidentally, Merriam-Webster describes expectorant as an antitussive agent. – Jimi Oke Feb 12 '11 at 19:30
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Something that prevents coughing is called an "antitussive". (See Merriam-Webster Online.)

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However, that's a pretty technical term, and not one I've seen applied to herbal teas. – Marthaª Feb 12 '11 at 18:18
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@Martha: Don't THWACK me again! I'll be good! ;=) Seriously, though, it is a technical term but it is the only one I could think of that compresses "anti-cough [noun]" into a single word. I'll grant you it's not a word I would use to advertise tea, but if you were to give me an example of a tea that actually does the job described I would certainly group that tea into the class of substances that are used as antitussives. – Robusto Feb 12 '11 at 18:39

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