psilocybin

Etymology

Borrowed from German Psilocybin (coined by Albert Hofmann), from translingual Psilocybe (“genus of mushroom”) + -in.

noun

1. (biochemistry) A hallucinogenic alkaloid, C₁₂H₁₅N₂O·H₂PO₃, present in several species of Central American mushroom and producing effects similar to LSD. The prodrug of psilocin.
   It’s no stretch to posit that because human neurotransmitters respond to the platform’s iconic use of a certain shade of blue, and spark with dopamine upon receiving a “like” or “tag” notification, desperate children are now living in cages and a raving madman occupies the Oval Office. Not even Orwell, after a feast of psilocybin, could have predicted this dystopia. 2019-01-29, Tom Bissell, “An Anti-Facebook Manifesto”, in New York Times