Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An araceous plant of the West Indies, Dieffenbachia Seguine: so called from the fact that its acridity causes swelling of the tongue when chewed, and destroys the power of speech.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A member of the family
Dieffenbachia .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an evergreen plant with large showy dark green leaves; contains a poison that swells the tongue and throat hence the name
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[So called because its leaves contain a substance that swells the throat when eaten.]
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Examples
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