D defs.my
Entry 3 senses Webster, 1913

Placebo

/pləs-ēb'-ō/ · Pla·ce·bo · IPA /pləˈsi.boʊ/
01 n. The first antiphon of the vespers for the dead.
  1. 1.
    The first antiphon of the vespers for the dead.(R. C. Ch.)
  2. 2.
    A prescription with no pharmacological activity given to a patient to humor or satisfy the desire for medical treatment.(Med.)
  3. 3.
    a dose of a compound having no pharmacological activity given to a subject in a medical experiment as part of a control experiment in a test of the effectiveness of another, active pharmacological agent.(Med.)
Phrases & compounds
To sing placebo — to agree with one in his opinion; to be complaisant to.