strychnine

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a highly poisonous crystalline alkaloid obtained from plants such as nux vomica and formerly used medicinally and as a pesticide

   Even a small dose of strychnine can cause severe and potentially fatal muscle spasms.

Borrowed from French strychnine, coined from New Latin Strychnos, the plant genus that includes nux vomica, + the chemical suffix -ine. Strychnos ultimately comes from Greek strychnos, a name used for nightshade-like plants.

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