as·a·fet·i·da also as·a·foet·i·da   Pronunciation Key  (s-ft-d)
n.
A brownish, bitter, foul-smelling resinous material obtained from the roots of several plants of the genus Ferula in the parsley family and formerly used in medicine.

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin  : asa, gum (from Persian az, mastic) + Latin fetida, feminine of fetidus, stinking; see fetid.]
 
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


asafetida

\As`a*fet"i*da\, Asafoetida \As`a*f[oe]t"i*da\, n. [Asa + L. foetidus fetid.] The fetid gum resin or inspissated juice of a large umbelliferous plant (Ferula asaf[oe]tida) of Persia and the East Indies. It is used in medicine as an antispasmodic. [Written also assaf[oe]tida.]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


*** Antispasmodic? Think this could be added to keep one from
coughing to death after inhaling the other poisons? ***


asafetida

n : the gum resin of various plants; has strong taste and odor; formerly used as an antispasmodic
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University