aconite
aconite Lexical Profile
• noun
Any poisonous herbaceous plant of the buttercup family belonging to the genus Aconitum, native to mountainous regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and distinguished by its deeply lobed leaves and showy, hood-like blue or purple flowers.
"The botanist wore thick protective gloves while handling the aconite, well aware that every part of the plant contains dangerous alkaloids."
A highly toxic extract or preparation derived from the dried roots of the monkshood plant, historically used in traditional medicine as a pain reliever but now largely abandoned due to its lethal nature.
"In many Victorian-era detective novels, a lethal dose of aconite was frequently employed by antagonists to quietly poison their unsuspecting victims."
• Rhymes for aconite
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Latin 'aconitum', derived from ancient Greek 'akoniton', a name for a poisonous plant. Its exact origins are uncertain, but it may relate to 'akōn' (dart or javelin), as the poison was historically used on arrowheads.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.