# Antivenin, or antivenom? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944 "2012-06-03T15:56:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/1 "2012-06-03T15:56:44Z")
Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=653926). Do you say ‘antivenin’, or ‘antvenom’? (FWIW, my spell-checker doesn’t like ‘antivenom’.) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/2 "2012-06-03T17:16:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=653926). > > Do you say ‘antivenin’, or ‘antvenom’? > > (FWIW, my spell-checker doesn’t like ‘antivenom’.) \*The name “antivenin” comes from the French word venin, meaning venom, which in turn was derived from Latin venenum, meaning poison. Historically antivenin was predominant around the world. The first published use of the term was in 1895.[2] In 1981, the World Health Organization decided that the preferred terminology in the English language would be venom and antivenom rather than venin and antivenin or venen and antivenene.\* From the wiki ;). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/3 "2012-06-03T17:17:53Z")
See, I learned the word as a child – which was well before 1981 – so I use the former term. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/4 "2012-06-03T18:30:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > See, I learned the word as a child – which was well before 1981 – so I use the former term. 😉 And I learned the word as a child – which was well before 1981 – so I use the latter term. Wait… But I DO use “antivenom,” and in fact I’m not sure I’ve ever run into “antivenin,” and I certainly learned the word before 1981. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/5 "2012-06-03T18:39:15Z")
Google ngrams says antivenin was more common than antivenom through about 1990, but that things have been more even since then. Both words have been used since about 1900, though. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/6 "2012-06-03T20:53:46Z")
Antivenin; and I used to do work with venomous reptiles. Both terms are commonly used, neither is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/7 "2012-06-03T21:46:34Z")
Well according to _some_ people in that thread, it may as well be antipoison, because poison and venom are the same thing! (they’re not) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/8 "2012-06-03T22:28:21Z")
Antivenin, of course. I would have thought “antivenom” was something like the bullet with Rush Limbaugh’s name on it. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/9 "2012-06-04T01:54:14Z")
Neither. The spelling that I was taught is antivenene. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/10 "2012-06-04T11:07:33Z")
I’ve never even heard the word antivenin. I thought it was a joke in the previous thread. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/11 "2012-06-04T11:59:52Z")
nm wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/12 "2012-06-04T12:11:08Z")
Why does the World Health Organization get to change existing words? Do the good folks at Oxford English Dictionary get to declare sodium chloride a poison? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/13 "2012-06-04T12:44:20Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of _antivenin_. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/14 "2012-06-04T13:14:07Z")
Antivenin. This is not something I want to screw up in the emergency room. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/15 "2012-06-04T17:08:45Z")
I say antivenom, because it feels more natural. And, to avoid ambiguity around younger or less-educated people who might mistakenly think I’m mispronouncing it. But I’m familiar with both forms, having read a LOT of old books in my time (I was an Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes mystery junkie in middle school). I was born in 1984 though, which is probably why \*-venom \*feels more natural than -_venin_. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/16 "2012-06-04T17:36:23Z")
Never said it but would probably say antivenom. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/17 "2012-06-04T17:40:08Z")
I say “antivenom,” even though I know it’s wrong. It’s just easier. Joe ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/20 "2012-06-11T23:39:12Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Spam reported. That linked site looks really sketchy. What’s with this Hall Monitor “Reported.” stuff I keep seeing? OMG, gotta change forums! Spam! Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/21 "2012-06-12T00:10:39Z")
When it’s legitimate to report a particular link as spam, noting that one has done so is a good way to avoid duplication of effort. Be kind of ironic to “spam” the mods with a spate of spam reports. Or are you kvetching about people having a low threshold for which commercial links they consider to be spam? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944/22 "2012-06-12T00:15:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Or are you kvetching about people having a low threshold for which commercial links they consider to be spam? Kvetching about folks reporting inconsequential things like a hall monitor. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivenin-or-antivenom/623944.md?page=2)