Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A poisonous aconite (Aconitum lycoctonum) of Eurasia, having racemes of usually yellowish flowers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A. plant of the genus Aconitum; aconite or monk's-hood; specifically, A. lycoctonum, the yellow or yellow-flowered wolf's bane, also called badger's-, bear's-, or hare's-bane.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A poisonous plant (Aconitum Lycoctonum), a kind of monkshood; also, by extension, any plant or species of the genus Aconitum. See aconite.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several poisonous perennial herbs of the genus Aconitum.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun poisonous Eurasian perennial herb with broad rounded leaves and yellow flowers and fibrous rootstock
  • noun poisonous Eurasian perennial herb with broad rounded leaves and yellow flowers and fibrous rootstock

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From wolf + bane, calque of Ancient Greek λυκοκτόνον (lukoktonon), from λύκος (lukos, "wolf") + κτείνω (kteinō, "I kill"). Influenced by Latin lycoctonum.

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Examples

  • The consequences can be fatal if the plant - also known as wolfsbane - is eaten and it can also cause heart complications, muscular weakness, nausea and vomiting.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2011

  • The consequences can be fatal if the plant - also known as wolfsbane - is eaten and it can also cause heart complications, muscular weakness, nausea and vomiting.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2011

  • Use of the herb, also known as wolfsbane or monkshood, has been known since Biblical times and has even featured in a

    Evening Standard - Home 2010

  • Use of the herb, also known as wolfsbane or monkshood, has been known since Biblical times and has even featured in a

    Evening Standard - Home 2010

  • The appreciative audience really fueled the energy -- the first row in particular howling with laughter, so much so that Jane the Housekeeper Anderson threw a sprig of "wolfsbane" to the woman who was laughing so hard in the first row.

    Review: The Mystery of Irma Vep K. A. Laity 2006

  • The appreciative audience really fueled the energy -- the first row in particular howling with laughter, so much so that Jane the Housekeeper Anderson threw a sprig of "wolfsbane" to the woman who was laughing so hard in the first row.

    Archive 2006-11-01 K. A. Laity 2006

  • But I do not dig graves, only cradles, for wolfsbane and moonflower, evening primrose and columbine.

    Wolves and Butterflies Linda Simoni-Wastila 2010

  • If Erec took Wolfboy along, he would have to bring some wolfsbane to protect himself.

    The Three Furies Kaza Kingsley 2010

  • Erec held the vial of laughter in one hand, and each of them carried some of the wolfsbane.

    The Three Furies Kaza Kingsley 2010

  • He found the wolfsbane on the W shelf and grabbed a handful to put in a bag.

    The Three Furies Kaza Kingsley 2010

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