Venom and Antivenom

Venom

/ˈvenəm/

noun

1. poison stored in an animal that can be injected into another animal’s body via bite or sting

I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom.

– Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley (1797-1851)

2. malice or bitterness

A man’s venom poisons himself more than his victim.

– Charles Buxton (1822 – 1871)

Antivenom

/ˌantēˈvenəm/

noun

a type of medicine that counteracts the effects of venom

Since 2000, Tim Friede, a truck mechanic from Wisconsin, has endured some 200 snakebites and 700 injections of lethal snake venom—all part of a masochistic quest to immunize his body and offer his blood to scientists seeking a universal antivenom.

– “The Human Antivenom Project”, Outside Magazine