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A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers.” It derives from the Latin word potio which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically for a love potion, a potion that is supposed to create feelings of love or attraction in the one who drinks it. Throughout history there have been several types of potions for a range of purposes. Reasons for taking potions ranged from curing an illness, to securing immortality to trying to induce love. These potions, while often ineffective or poisonous, occasionally had some degree of medicinal success depending on what they sought to fix and the type and amount of ingredients used. Some popular ingredients used in potions across history include Spanish fly, nightshade plants, cannabis, and opium. During the 17th to 19th century, it was common in Europe to see peddlers offering potions for ailments ranging from heartbreak to the plague. These were eventually dismissed as quackery. Prostitutes, courtesans, enchanters and midwives were also known to distribute potions. The word potion has its origins in the Latin word potus, an irregular past participle of potare, meaning "to drink.” This evolved to the word potionem (nominative potio) meaning either "a potion, a drinking” or a "poisonous draught, magic potion." In Ancient Greek, the word for both drugs and potions was “pharmaka” or “pharmakon.” In the 12th century, the French had the word pocion, meaning "potion," "draught," or "medicine". By the 13th century, this word became pocioun, referring to either a medicinal drink, or a dose of liquid medicine (or poison). The word "potion" is also cognate with the Spanish words pocion with the same meaning, and ponzoña, meaning "poison"; The word pozione was originally the same word for both "poison" and "potion" in Italian, but by the early 15th century in Italy, potion began to be known specifically as a magical or enchanted drink. The practice of administering potions has had a long history of being illegalised.

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