Adjacent Words

Hellebore definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HEL'LEBORE, n. [L. helleborus.] The name of several plants of different genera, the most important of which are the black hellebore, Christmas rose, or Christmas flower, of the genus Helleborus, and the white hellebore, of the genus Veratrum. Both are acrid and poisonous,and are used in medicine as evacuants and alternatives.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: perennial herbs of the lily family having thick toxic rhizomes [syn: hellebore, false hellebore]
2: any plant of the Eurasian genus Helleborus

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English elebre, from Anglo-French, from Latin elleborus, helleborus, from Greek helleboros Date: 15th century 1. any of a genus (Helleborus) of poisonous Eurasian herbs of the buttercup family having showy flowers with petaloid sepals; also the dried rhizome of a hellebore (as H. niger) formerly used in medicine 2. a poisonous herb (genus Veratrum) of the lily family; also the dried rhizome of a hellebore (V. album or V. viride) that is used as an insecticide and contains toxic alkaloids that are cardiac and respiratory depressants

Britannica Concise

Member of either of two genera of poisonous herbaceous plants, Helleborus (buttercup family) and Veratrum (lily family). Some are grown as garden ornamentals. Helleborus consists of about 20 species of perennial plants native to Eurasia; most are nearly stemless, with thick roots and long-stalked, divided leaves and showy flowers. Veratrum contains about 45 species, better called false hellebores, native widely to damp areas of the Northern Hemisphere. They have simple leaves and clusters of small flowers.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 any evergreen plant of the genus Helleborus, having large white, green, or purplish flowers, e.g. the Christmas rose. 2 a liliaceous plant, Veratrum album. 3 hist. any of various plants supposed to cure madness. Etymology: ME f. OF ellebre, elebore or med.L eleborus f. L elleborus f. Gk (h)elleboros

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hellebore Hel"le*bore, n. [L. helleborus, elleborus, Gr. ?, ?; cf. F. hell['e]bore, ell['e]bore.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs (Helleborus) of the Crowfoot family, mostly having powerfully cathartic and even poisonous qualities. H. niger is the European black hellebore, or Christmas rose, blossoming in winter or earliest spring. H. officinalis was the officinal hellebore of the ancients. 2. (Bot.) Any plant of several species of the poisonous liliaceous genus Veratrum, especially V. album and V. viride, both called white hellebore.