What is "poison"

Poison \Poi"son\, n. [F. poison, in Old French also, a potion, fr. L. potio a drink, draught, potion, a poisonous draught, fr. potare to drink. See Potable, and cf. Potion.]

1. Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.

2. That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin. Poison ash. (Bot.)

   1. A tree of the genus Amyris ( Amyris balsamifera) found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous qualities.

   2. The poison sumac ( Rhus venenata). [U. S.] Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac. Poison fang (Zo["o]l.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which, besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates. See Illust. under Fang. Poison gland (Biol.), a gland, in animals or plants, which secretes an acrid or venomous matter, that is conveyed along an organ capable of inflicting a wound. Poison hemlock (Bot.), a poisonous umbelliferous plant ( Conium maculatum). See Hemlock. Poison ivy (Bot.), a poisonous climbing plant (formerly Rhus Toxicodendron, or Rhus radicans, now classified as Toxicodendron radicans) of North America. It is common as a climbing vine, especially found on tree trunks, or walls, or as a low, spreading vine or as a shrub. As a low vine it grows well in lightly shaded areas, recognizable by growing in clusters of three leaves. Its leaves are trifoliate, rhombic-ovate, and variously notched. Its form varies slightly from location to location, leading to some speculation that it may consist of more than one species. Many people are poisoned by it, though some appear resistant to its effects. Touching the leaves may leave a residue of an oil on the skin, and if not washed off quickly, sensitive areas of skin become reddened and develop multiple small blisters, lasting for several days to several weeks, and causing a persistent itch. The toxic reaction is due to an oil, present in all parts of the plant except the pollen, called urushiol, the active component of which is the compound pentadecylacatechol. See Poison sumac. It is related to poison oak, and is also called mercury. Poison nut. (Bot.)

      1. Nux vomica.

      2. The tree which yields this seed ( Strychnos Nuxvomica). It is found on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.

         Poison oak (Bot.), a dermatitis-producing plant often lumped together with the poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans) in common terminology, but more properly distinguished as the more shrubby Toxicodendron quercifolium (syn. Toxicodendron diversilobum), common in California and Oregon. Opinion varies as to whether the poison oak and poison ivy are only variants of a single species. See poison ivy, above.

         Poison sac. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Poison gland, above. See Illust. under Fang.

         Poison sumac (Bot.), a poisonous shrub formerly considered to be of the genus Rhus ( Rhus venenata), but now classified as Toxicodendron vernix; -- also called poison ash, poison dogwood, and poison elder. It has pinnate leaves on graceful and slender common petioles, and usually grows in swampy places. Both this plant and the poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans, formerly Rhus Toxicodendron) have clusters of smooth greenish white berries, while the red-fruited species of this genus are harmless. The tree ( Rhus vernicifera) which yields the celebrated Japan lacquer is almost identical with the poison sumac, and is also very poisonous. The juice of the poison sumac also forms a lacquer similar to that of Japan.

         Syn: Venom; virus; bane; pest; malignity.

         Usage: Poison, Venom. Poison usually denotes something received into the system by the mouth, breath, etc. Venom is something discharged from animals and received by means of a wound, as by the bite or sting of serpents, scorpions, etc. Hence, venom specifically implies some malignity of nature or purpose.

Poison \Poi"son\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poisoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Poisoning.] [Cf. OF. poisonner, F. empoissoner, L. potionare to give to drink. See Poison, n.]

1. To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink. ``The ingredients of our poisoned chalice.''
   --Shak.

2. To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to.

   If you poison us, do we not die ?
   --Shak.

3. To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind.

   Whispering tongues can poison truth.
   --Coleridge.

Poison \Poi"son\, v. i. To act as, or convey, a poison.

Tooth that poisons if it bite.
--Shak.

"to give poison to; kill with poison," c.1300, from Old French poisonner "to give to drink," and directly from poison (n.). Figuratively from late 14c. Related: Poisoned; poisoning.

c.1200, "a deadly potion or substance," also figuratively, from Old French poison, puison (12c., Modern French poison) "a drink," especially a medical drink, later "a (magic) potion, poisonous drink" (14c.), from Latin potionem (nominative potio) "a drinking, a drink," also "poisonous drink" (Cicero), from potare "to drink" (see potion).\n

\nFor form evolution from Latin to French, compare raison from rationem. The Latin word also is the source of Old Spanish pozon, Italian pozione, Spanish pocion. The more usual Indo-European word for this is represented in English by virus. The Old English word was ator (see attercop) or lybb. Slang sense of "alcoholic drink" first attested 1805, American English.\n

\nFor sense evolution, compare Old French enerber, enherber "to kill with poisonous plants." In many Germanic languages "poison" is named by a word equivalent to English gift (such as Old High German gift, German Gift, Danish and Swedish gift; Dutch gift, vergift). This shift might have been partly euphemistic, partly by influence of Greek dosis "a portion prescribed," literally "a giving," used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medicine (see dose (n.)).\n

\nFiguratively from late 15c.; of persons by 1910. As an adjective from 1520s; with plant names from 18c. Poison ivy first recorded 1784; poison oak is from 1743. Poison gas first recorded 1915. Poison-pen (letter) popularized 1913 by a notorious criminal case in Pennsylvania, U.S.; the phrase dates to 1898.

n. 1 A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism. 2 Something that harms a person or thing. 3 (context informal English) A drink; liquor. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To use poison to kill or paralyse somebody 2 (context transitive English) To pollute; to cause some part of the environment to become poisonous 3 (context transitive English) To cause something to become much worse 4 (context transitive English) To cause someone to hate or to have unfair negative opinions

1. v. spoil as if by poison; "poison someone's mind"; "poison the atmosphere in the office"

2. kill by its poison; "This mushrooms can kill"

3. kill with poison; "She poisoned her husband"

4. add poison to; "Her husband poisoned her drink in order to kill her" [syn: envenom]

5. administer poison to; "She poisoned her husband but he did not die"

1. n. any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism [syn: poisonous substance]

2. anything that harms or destroys; "the poison of fascism"

In biology, poisons are substances that cause disturbances in organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when an organism absorbs a sufficient quantity.

The fields of medicine (particularly veterinary) and zoology often distinguish a poison from a toxin, and from a venom. Toxins are poisons produced by organisms in nature, and venoms are toxins injected by a bite or sting (this is exclusive to animals). The difference between venom and other poisons is the delivery method. Industry, agriculture, and other sectors use poisons for reasons other than their toxicity. Pesticides are one group of substances whose toxicity is their prime purpose.

In 2013, 3.3 million cases of unintentional poisonings occurred. This resulted in 98,000 deaths worldwide, down from 120,000 deaths in 1990.

Poison is an American rock band that achieved great commercial success in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Poison has sold over 50 million records worldwide and has sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and the Hot 100 number-one, " Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The band's breakthrough debut album, the multi-platinum Look What the Cat Dragged In, was released in 1986 and they hit their peak with the second album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, which became the band's most successful album, being certified 5x platinum in the US. The popularity continued into the new decade with their third consecutive multi-platinum selling album, Flesh & Blood.

In the 1990s following the release of the band's first live album, Swallow This Live, the band experienced some line up changes and the fall of pop metal with the grunge movement, but despite a drop in popularity the band's fourth studio album, Native Tongue, still achieved Gold status and the band's first compilation album, Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986–1996, went double platinum.

In the 2000s, with the original line up back together, the band found new popularity after a successful greatest hits reunion tour in 1999. The band began the new decade with the release of the long-awaited Crack a Smile... and More!, followed by the Power to the People album. The band toured almost every year to sold out stadiums and arenas. They released a brand new album, Hollyweird, in 2002 and in 2006 the band celebrated their 20-year anniversary with The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock tour and album, which was certified Gold and marked Poison's return to the Billboard top 20 charts for the first time since 1993. Band members have released several solo albums and starred in successful reality TV shows. After 25 years, the band is still recording music and performing.

Since their debut in 1986, they have released eight studio albums, four live albums, five compilation albums, and have issued 28 singles to radio.

In 2012 VH1 ranked them at #1 on their list of the "Top 5 Hair Bands of the '80s".

Poison is a substance that causes injury, illness, or death.

Poison or The Poison may also refer to:

Poison is a 1991 American science fiction drama horror film written and directed by Todd Haynes. It is composed of three intercut stories that are partially inspired by the novels of Jean Genet. With its gay themes, Poison is considered an early entry in the New Queer Cinema movement.

Poison (Cecilia Cardinale) is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe, created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Cynthia Martin. Poison first appeared in Web of Spider-Man Annual #4 (1988).

Poison is the debut studio album from American R&B/ hip hop group Bell Biv DeVoe, released March 20, 1990 on MCA Records.

The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart. By April 1995, it was certified quadruple-platinum in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 4,000,000 copies in the United States.

is a fictional character in the Final Fight and Street Fighter series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Poison first appeared in the original Final Fight alongside a similar character, Roxy, later appearing in Capcom-produced games, media and merchandise related to the Street Fighter franchise. She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka since the Street Fighter III series and Masae Yumi in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.

Originally conceived as a female thug in Final Fight and part of the game's antagonist group, Mad Gear, concerns during the game's development about reactions from North American audiences to fighting women, resulted in the character being re-imagined as a trans woman. However, that was not considered satisfactory and both Poison and her palette swap Roxy were replaced by the male characters "Billy" and "Sid", and have been for every subsequent North American port of the title on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. After the Final Fight series, she later appeared alongside wrestler Hugo, acting as his manager, with her schemes revolving around finding a tag team partner for him or developing their own wrestling organization. Poison was also to appear in both Capcom Fighting All-Stars and Final Fight: Streetwise; however, the former was canceled, and she was omitted from the latter as development progressed. Following those aborted attempts, she ended up appearing as a playable character on Street Fighter X Tekken. She was also added as a playable character to Ultra Street Fighter IV.

The character's status as potentially a trans woman, consciously left ambiguous by the developers, has remained a topic of frequent debate by both fans and media alike.

"Poison" is a single by the New Edition spinoff group, Bell Biv DeVoe. This song—in the style of new jack swing, a late-1980s/early-1990s hybrid of R&B and hip hop—was the group's most successful, and sings of the dangers of falling in love. "Poison" was the first single taken from Bell Biv DeVoe's debut album of the same name.

The song was written and produced by Elliot Straitt, AKA DJ Freeze. Straitt had originally planned to feature the song on his own album, but plans changed when the members of Bell Biv DeVoe heard his demo version. "When the guys heard it, they went nuts. I didn’t think that record was going to be that big because it was a personal love letter to my ex-girlfriend at the time. It wasn’t a song at first. It was a letter. When I wrote it as a song, I let a lot of my friends hear it, and they said it was weird. After that, I put the music together. I was thinking I wasn’t going to be on the album because such heavyweights were already on it. I ended up having two songs on the album: “Poison” and “She’s Dope!” Interestingly, Straitt cites Kraftwerk as an influence on his production of Poison, as well as Latin music. In a 2015 interview with Chris Williams for the Red Bull Music Academy, Straitt says, "When I made “Poison,” I was studying Kraftwerk. When I heard Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express album and their “Numbers” record, it made me want to change my whole style and approach to music. It gave me the musical inspiration to do “Poison.” I’m also mixed with Black and Puerto Rican. I had uncles that played with big Latin bands like Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria. You could hear the Latin elements in “Poison.” I wanted to bring the Latin element into that record by using timbales. When you hear them say “poison” at the end of the record? That came from Kraftwerk. It brought a futuristic element to the track as well. I didn’t want it to be a regular R&B record."

On the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Poison" rose from number fifty-two to number thirty-eight in the week of April 14, 1990, and eventually peaked at number three for four consecutive weeks, beginning on June 9, 1990. The single also peaked at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart for two weeks. "Poison" became one of the most successful singles of 1990 (see 1990 in music), and was a staple on MTV and mainstream radio in the summer, spending ten weeks in the Top 10. The single peaked at number seven on the dance charts. "Poison" was certified platinum by the RIAA on June 1, 1990 for sales of over one million copies.

It has been used in film ( Mo' Money, Pootie Tang, Honey 2, Pineapple Express, Think Like A Man Too, Pitch Perfect 2), television ( A Different World, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Scrubs, Glee, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, Hindsight), and video games (2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, on new jack swing radio station CSR 103.9, 2009's DJ Hero, 2010's Dance Central). It is also referenced in the Madvillain song, "Fancy Clown" and the Donald D. track, "She Gets Buck Wild". "Poison" was named #60 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s as well as #1 on VH1's 40 Greatest R&B Songs of the 90s. It was also sampled in the Nick Cannon song, "Dime Piece."

The song was used in a New York Knicks intermission video, where the players awkwardly attempt to sing along with the song. It was also covered by Dev in her mixtape Dev Is Hot: The Mixtape. The song was also used a sample for Missy Elliott protégée Sharaya J's "Snatch Yo Wigs" (2013).

Poison is an EP released by German trance group Groove Coverage. The name was taken from their single of the same name.

"Poison" is a short story written by Roald Dahl that was originally published in June 1950 in Collier's. In 1950 it was adapted for the radio program Escape. In 1958 it was turned into an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself.

"Poison" is a pop song by Australian female group Bardot, and was the first single from their debut album Bardot (2000). It was co-written and produced by Australian producer Michael Szumowski.

The single attracted much hype due to its inclusion on the high-rating Popstars program and debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, where it spent two consecutive weeks, and was certified double platinum. It became the sixth highest selling single in Australia of 2000 and was the highest selling single by an Australian act that year. The single was nominated "Highest Selling Single" at the 2000 ARIA Music Awards, but lost to Madison Avenue's " Don't Call Me Baby". "Poison" was also a big success in New Zealand where the single spent 3 consecutive weeks at number 1 and was certified platinum. In Singapore, it reached number 2. It was released in the UK on 2 April 2001, debuting and peaking at number 45.

"Poison" is a song by The Prodigy, released as the group's ninth single on 6 March 1995. It was the fourth and final single from the album Music for the Jilted Generation. Maxim Reality provides the vocals for this track.

The drums in the song are samples from "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps (which later became well known as the beat to the track Clubbed to Death, which was used as the theme tune to The Matrix), "Amen Brother" by The Winstons, "Heavy Soul Slinger" by Bernard Purdie, and "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught" by Incredible Bongo Band.

The song was featured in the soundtrack of film, most notably End Of Days.

The CD singles art follows a theme similar to the song: rat poison. The front cover features a box of said poison, the back shows a picture of a dead and decomposing rodent, and the CD itself has a rat superimposed onto it. The theme of rat poison even goes into the music as the official remix of "Poison" is dubbed "Rat Poison".

Poison (original Norwegian title: Gift) is an 1883 novel by the Norwegian writer Alexander Kielland. The novel is the first in a trilogy including Fortuna (1884) and St. Hans Fest (1887).

This famous novel is an attack on the Norwegian education system, particularly on the obsession with Latin. A schoolboy, Marius, is tormented throughout the first half of the novel by his scholastic inability, and during his final illness continues to murmur rote phrases, his last words being Mensa rotunda.

The main character of the book is Marius's friend Abraham Løvdahl, the son of a respected professor. His mother Wenche is an idealist who struggles in vain to keep her son honest and upright; she takes her own life after falling pregnant to the businessman Michal Mordtmann.

In Norwegian, gift can mean both "poison" and "married," making the title of the novel ambiguous. However, the conventional interpretation is that the title means "poison", as the students are "poisoned" by rote learning of topics unrelated to real life and societal norms. In both cases, the etymology is the same, namely something that is "given." It is the same word as the English word " gift", adopted from Old Norse.

Category:1883 novels Category:Norwegian novels Category:Novels set in Norway Category:Gyldendal books

"Poison" is a song by American rock singer-songwriter Alice Cooper. Written by Cooper, and co-written by Desmond Child and John McCurry, the song was released worldwide as a single in late-1989 from Cooper's eighteenth studio album, Trash (1989). The song was one of Cooper's biggest hit singles in the United States, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, while peaking at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, only being held off the top spot by the dance record, " Swing the Mood" by Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers. It is ranked by Billboard as the "91st top song of 1989". "Poison" is one of Alice Cooper's best known songs.

The song is available as downloadable content (as part of the Alice Cooper pack or as a single) for use in the music video game Rock Band, and a re-recorded version is also available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Poison is the third mini-album by South Korean girl group Secret. Following their Japanese promotions in 2012, TS Entertainment announced that the group will have its comeback in South Korea after almost a year absence in the South Korean music industry. The mini-album was released on September 13, 2012, and contains five tracks, including the title track of the same name.

Poison was a German black/ death/ thrash metal band from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany that formed in 1982. The band was prolific within the Teutonic thrash underground until their disestablishment in 1987. Throughout their career, the band released eight demos, one album, and one compilation called Further Down into the Abyss that was released in 2006.

"Poison" is the first single from American hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's 1989 debut album Road to the Riches. It would later feature on the compilation albums Killer Kuts (1994), The Best of Cold Chillin' (2000), Greatest Hits (2002) and Street Stories: The Best of Kool G Rap & DJ Polo (2013).

"Poison" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger for her debut solo studio album, Killer Love (2011). Released on October 25, 2010, it is the first single from the album. It was produced by RedOne, BeatGeek and Jimmy Joker, and is distinctively different from Scherzinger's previous attempts at releasing solo material. "Poison" is backed with powerful synthesizers and a pulsing dance-pop beat. The single was released as a two-track digital download and as a seven-track remixes extended play (EP).

"Poison" has received mostly positive reviews from most music critics who praised her new sound and the energy on the record but some criticized the song for being too generic. Scherzinger performed "Poison" live for the first time on seventh series of The X Factor on November 28, 2010, to coincide with the song's UK release. Both the show's judges and studio audiences gave her a standing ovation, with the media later praising her energy, choreography and live vocals.

An accompanying music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, sees Scherzinger take on the role of a female superhero and switches between a good-girl and bad-girl persona. It was noted for its similarities to another Kahn-directed video, " Toxic" by Britney Spears. "Poison" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart becoming Scherzinger's second most successful single as a solo artist, in addition to peaking at number seven in Ireland, where it also became one of her highest charting releases. The single reached number one in Scotland, which was Scherzinger's first solo number one worldwide.

"Poison" is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé. It is included on the 2009 deluxe edition of her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008) and the EP titled I Am...Sasha Fierce – The Bonus Tracks (2009). It was written by Johntá Austin, Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen of the production team Stargate and Beyoncé while the production was handled by the later two. The song leaked online in August 2009 prior to the release of the deluxe edition of I Am… Sasha Fierce. During that month, it was included on a mixtape by DJ Haze titled Big R&B Ego.

"Poison" is a slow- tempo song in which the female protagonist talks about a bad relationship that she cannot abandon. It received mostly positive reviews from critics who noted that although the song was cut out of the track-listing of the standard edition of the album, it was a solid track. Following the release of the EP I Am... Sasha Fierce – The Bonus Tracks in Korea, the song peaked at number one on the South Korea Gaon International Chart during the week ending February 7, 2010.

Poison (2003) is a young-adult English-language fantasy novel written by Chris Wooding, published in 2003. It is a highly metafictional novel which follows the adventures of a young (sixteen-year-old) female protagonist named Poison as she attempts to rescue her sister from the Phaerie Realm. It contains many intertextual references particularly to mythology, fairy tales and secondary world fantasy (i.e. a story about a world in which magic works without any connection to the "real" world) characteristics.

Wooding credits his travels through Europe as the inspiration for Poison, which he began writing a year after returning home. He says of the novel:

"It can be read one level as a weird, gruesome kind of fairy tale, but there's a lot more to it than that. I spent most of my time writing this novel worrying about whether anyone would 'get' it, or whether it would sound like some degenerate A-Level student's philosophical rant when it was all finished instead of the story it was supposed to be, but I think it all worked out fine in the end. I'm very happy with it, anyways. And at least I got to put all the folklore I studied at University to good use."

Poison is a 1987 album by the Japanese rock band Rebecca which reached No.1 in the Japanese album charts and received a RIAJ Gold Disc Award for best rock album of the year, as well as winning Grand Prix for artist in all genres in the same year.

"Poison" is a song by British singer Rita Ora. The song was released on 18 May 2015, serving as the first single from her upcoming second studio album. The single peaked at number three in the UK.

"Poison" is a song by Dutch DJ and record producer Martin Garrix. It was released as a free download on 31 October 2015 on SoundCloud. The song was first performed by Martin at the Amsterdam Music Festival on 16 October 2015, where he was voted number 3 on DJ Magazines Top 100 DJs, below Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Hardwell.

Poison is a children's game, a variant of the game of tag. Jessie H. Bancroft's 1909 book Games for the Playground... describes it as follows.

Children form a ring clasping their hands around a much smaller "poison" circle drawn on the floor or ground. The player are trying to push or pull each other to step into the "poison". As soon as some players touch the "poison" circle, the other shouts "Poisoned!" and run for safety. The safety consists of finding a piece of dead wood, step on it. Safe children would shout "I am standing on the wood! You can't get me!" A part of fun is to try and run from one safe place to another. Players tagged while caught off the wood become poisoned themselves and join the catchers. The game ends when as many as possible become poisoned.