hemlock en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English hemlok, hemeluc, from Old English hemlīc, hymlīc m and hymlīce f (“hemlock, bryony, convolvulus”), of uncertain origin. speculative etymology Compare Old English hymele (“hop-vine, hops”), Old English humele (“bryony, widerton, hair moss, gold-hair, morning glory”), Danish and Swedish humle (“hops”), Icelandic humall (“hops”). Perhaps from Scythian, from Proto-Iranian *háwHmah (“ephedra; juice”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sáwHmas from Proto-Indo-European *sewh₁- (“to press out, extract”). ;cognates * (from Sarmato-Scythian *haumala) Ossetian хумӕллӕг (xumællæg, “hops”) * (from Sarmato-Scythian *hauma) Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀 (haoma), Baluchi [script needed] (hum), Persian هوم (hôm)) * (from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma) Sanskrit सोम (soma)) More at suck.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera ▸ Conium, either Conium maculatum or Conium chaerophylloides.
Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper.
1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273:There were bunches of wild garlic to keep out evil spirits, foxgloves for healing spells and hemlock and vervain for darker magic.
1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 41:In the Tyrol, on May Day, it was the custom to smoke out witches by burning bundles of black and red spotted hemlock. In the eighteenth century hemlock was used for treating cancer, syphilis, and ulcers.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 113:
- (countable, uncountable) Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera ▸ Cicuta (water hemlock).
- (countable, uncountable) Poison obtained from these Conium and Cicuta plants.
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(countable, uncountable) Any of several coniferous trees, of the genus Tsuga, that grow in North America; the wood of such trees.
The wind blows and the hemlocks wave their feathery leading shoots. Such a graceful profile, so elegant a tree.
2018, Richard Powers, The Overstory, Vintage (2019), page 380:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| hemlocks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
northern Japanese hemlock · eastern hemlock · mountain hemlock · Chinese hemlock · hemlock water parsnip · hemlocky · Carolina hemlock · gosh all hemlock · hemlock leather · Taiwan hemlock · southern Japanese hemlock · Forrest's hemlock · Canadian hemlock · hemlock parsley · poison hemlock · Himalayan hemlock · ground hemlock · hemlock woolly adelgid · western hemlock · Patton's hemlock
Descendants
Synonyms
herb bennet · devil's bread · cowbane (Cicuta) · Conium chaerophylloides · spotted cowbane (Cicuta) · poison hemlock · devil's porridge · Conium maculatum · poison parsnip (Cicuta) · musquash root (Cicuta) · poison parsley · beaver poison (Cicuta) · water hemlock (Cicuta)
Translations (91)
tr suga (tree) · da hemlock (tree) · fi myrkkykatko (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · de Gefleckter Schierling (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · sh ку̀кута (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · es falso abeto (tree) · es cicuta (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · grc κώνειον (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · kw kegis (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · de Schierlingstanne (tree) · grc μαγκοῦτα (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ja 栂 (tree) · lt mauda (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · cs bolehlav (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · it cicuta (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · uk оме́г (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · pl choina (tree) · fi myrkkykatkon myrkky (poison) · rup cucutã (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · uk болиголо́в (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · mk бу́чумиш (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · el κώνειο (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · kk убалдырған (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · tr baldıran (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · fa شوکران (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · nl scheerling (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · fi katko (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · pt cicuta (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · grc μαγκοῦνα (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · no hemlokk (tree) · uk тсу́га (tree) · fi hemlokki (tree) · pl szczwół (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ja ツガ (tree) · de Hemlocktanne (tree) · da skarntyde (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · cmn 毒参 (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · gl canafrecha (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · gd i-teodha (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · cmn 鐵杉 /铁杉 (tree) · et tsuuga (tree) · ru болиголо́в (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ota بالدران (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · vo stenöfakonid (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · da skarntydegran (tree) · bg бучиниш (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ko 독당근 (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · cs jedlovec (tree) · be балігало́ў (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · sh kùkuta (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · sq kukutë (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ro cucută (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ar شَوْكَرَان (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · cmn 毒芹 (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · la cicūta (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · uk оме́жник (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · be о́мег (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · de Fleckenschierling (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · xcl մոլախինդ (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · hy մոլեխինդ (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ja 毒人参 (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · vo konidavenen (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · fr ciguë (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · sv hemlockgran (tree) · ru тсу́га (tree) · el κιρκούτα (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · vo konid (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · hu bürök (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · kw kegisen (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · tr ağı otu (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · cy cegid (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · grc μαγγοῦνα (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · pl cykuta (poison) · fr pruche (tree) · sl míšjak (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · gd a-theodha (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · be аме́жнік (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · grc μαγγοῦτα (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · ru оме́г (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · bg мангу́на (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · he רֹאשׁ (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · am ሄምሎክ (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · pt tsuga (tree) · nl hemlockspar (tree) · ca tsuga (tree) · ca cicuta (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · fi katkon myrkky (poison) · sq magunë (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · gd de-theodha (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · de Schierling (poisonous plant of genus Conium) · eo cugo (tree)