colchicum
colchicum Lexical Profile
colchicum Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Any bulbous perennial plant of the genus Colchicum (family Colchicaceae), native to Eurasia and North Africa, commonly called autumn crocus or meadow saffron and cultivated for its goblet-shaped pink, lilac, or white flowers that typically bloom in autumn before the leaves appear.
A poisonous medicinal preparation made from the dried corms or seeds of Colchicum autumnale, containing the alkaloid colchicine and used to treat gout.
"Before purified colchicine became standard, physicians prescribed tincture of colchicum to relieve acute attacks of gout."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin colchicum, from Ancient Greek kolkhikon, literally meaning 'the plant of Colchis,' an ancient region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea famed in Greek mythology as the homeland of the sorceress Medea and renowned for its toxic plants.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.