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.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dumb cane.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.