Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various plants in the pea family, chiefly of the genera Senna and Chamaecrista, having pinnately compound leaves and showy, nearly regular, usually yellow flowers, used as ornamentals and for medicinal purposes.
- noun A preparation of the dried leaves of Senna alexandrina, used as a laxative.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun countable Any of several
plants of the tribeCassieae , especially those of the generaCassia andSenna , whoseleaves andpods are used as apurgative andlaxative . - noun uncountable The dried leaves or pods of these plants (especially of Cassia angustifolia or Cassia acutifolia) used medicinally.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Arghel_ are used for adulterating senna, _Cassia obovata_ or _C. senna_, also a native of Egypt, cultivated in the East Indies, as well as in Spain, Italy, and Jamaica.
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[274] _Cañafístulo_: referring to the drug known as senna, which is obtained from the leaves of several species of _Cassia_.
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I have specimens of the leaves of the officinal senna, which is cultivated successfully by Mr.W. Lucas, of South Carolina, for use on his plantation.
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J. and I have just discovered what the eco-nuts who sell us our henna have not been telling us about the ingredients for some time: The red henna J. prefers isn't actually henna, it's italian senna, which isn't a hair dye at all, just a mild colourant and conditioner, and the deep red colour comes from an un-stated amount of sodium picramate added to the mix - and sodium picramate is a really unstable relative of picric acid, one of the all time unstable dangerous explosives.
Murphy's Law x 2 StyleyGeek 2008
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By domesticae, he means those simple uncompounded purgatives which everybody can administer to themselves; such as senna-tea, stewed prunes and senria, chewing a little rhubarb, or dissolving an ounce and a half of manna in fair water, with the juice of a lemon to make it palatable.
Letters to his son on The Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman 2005
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Cannot you recall many a wry face; cannot you remember how unpleasant the after sensations when stern, but kind mothers forced a nauseous decoction called "senna" down your widely-gaping throat?
In Eastern Seas Or, the Commission of H.M.S. 'Iron Duke,' flag-ship in China, 1878-83 J. J. Smith
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It is certain, however, that through them various new and useful drugs, such as senna, aconite, rhubarb, camphor, and mercury, were handed down through the Middle Ages, and that they are responsible for the introduction of alcohol in the field of therapeutics.
A History of Science: in Five Volumes. Volume II: The Beginnings of Modern Science 1904
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'domesticae', he means those simple uncompounded purgatives which everybody can administer to themselves; such as senna-tea, stewed prunes and senria, chewing a little rhubarb, or dissolving an ounce and a half of manna in fair water, with the juice of a lemon to make it palatable.
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman, 1752 Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield 1733
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'domesticae', he means those simple uncompounded purgatives which everybody can administer to themselves; such as senna-tea, stewed prunes and senria, chewing a little rhubarb, or dissolving an ounce and a half of manna in fair water, with the juice of a lemon to make it palatable.
Complete Project Gutenberg Earl of Chesterfield Works Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield 1733
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Knowing him for what he was, she gave him the senna-stained tips of her warm fingers to kiss, and he thought she trembled when he touched them.
In The Time Of Light dj barber 2010
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