The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
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.
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That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin. Poison ash. (Bot.)
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.
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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.)
Nux vomica.
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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.
Usage examples of "poison sac".
Nowhere in the beast books, where survival is shown in battles between claw and fang, tentacle and poison sac, is there recognition of the ferocity the present always brings to bear on the past.
Next, I removed the stinger, along with the poison sac, and killed the scorpion with a squeeze.
There must have been at least a hundred tanks of various sizes, from the large ones to hold Torpedo Skates and the sinister Guitar Fish, to smaller ones for the Horse-killer Eel, Mud Fish from the Pacific, and the monstrous West Indian Scorpion Fish, each of whose spines has a poison sac as powerful as a rattlesnake's.
Of course, their poison sacs had been removed but the audience did not know that because Bushfekete also kept a cobra, its poison sac intact, which he displayed free of charge to the public, who watched it kill rats.
She had added a few drops of one of the many secretions that a Hymenopt's poison sac could produce.
The knife laced through the belly and, as Trakis had hoped, directly into the parasectoid's poison sac, Nimmet jerked the knife out and then began to scream, clawing at his hand as the toxic fluid began eating into it.
The three banner-spines and the ventral spine carry a toxin so lethal and so long-lasting that the dried spine of a deathangel can kill a victim weeks afterward, if the poison sac at the ventral side of the spine is intact.
Takshaka opened his mouth wide to show off the bloated poison sac at the back of his throat.
At least fifteen feet from poison sac to bony rattle, its vivid colors stood out against the gray sand.
The nerve trigger breaks the internal shell of the poison sac (the blue bulb) and sends the toxic liquid up through the interior of the spine to leak out the pin-point holes in the end.
Carapace, poison sac, eight articulated legs, crawling flush with my shoulder.
Slowly the sting slid home into its sheath and the nerves in the poison sac at its base relaxed.
The sting is their only natural weapon, but the poison sac associated with it has long since atrophied.