Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of several plants of the genus Solanum, such as the bittersweet nightshade, most of which have a poisonous juice.
- n. Any of various similar or related plants, such as belladonna.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A plant of the genus Solanum, or of the Solanaceæ or nightshade family. Chiefiy. S. nigrum, the common or black nightshade, a homely weed of shady places, or S. Dulcamara, the bittersweet or woody nightshade. See
bittersweet , 1. - n. The name of a few plants of other orders, as below.
- n. The darkness of the night.
- n. A prostitute.
- n. Solanum aculeatisdmum, a shrubby and prickly species with yellow berries found from North Carolina to Florida and west to Texas.
Wiktionary
- n. botany Any of the poisonous plants belonging to the genus Solanum, especially black nightshade or woody nightshade.
- n. botany, colloquial Any plant of the wider Solanaceae family, including the nightshades as well as tomato, potato, eggplant, and deadly nightshade.
- n. Belladonna or deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna.
- n. Any of several plants likened to nightshade, usually because of similar dark-colored berries.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) A common name of many species of the genus Solanum, given esp. to the Solanum nigrum, or black nightshade, a low, branching weed with small white flowers and black berries reputed to be poisonous.
WordNet 3.0
- n. any of numerous shrubs or herbs or vines of the genus Solanum; most are poisonous though many bear edible fruit
Etymologies
- Old English nihtscada, apparently corresponding to night + shade. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English nihtscada : niht, night; see night + sceadu, shade. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“And yet it's also classified as a nightshade which, along with potatoes, peppers and eggplants, are considered toxic by many health gurus.”
“Despite much publicity, there is no scientific evidence to support the theory that arthritis is made worse by the so-called nightshade vegetables, which include tomatoes, potatoes, green pepper, and eggplant.”
“The babe does not know that the nightshade is a poison; but its mother knows.”
“We do not call the nightshade a weed in our hedges, nor the scarlet agaric in our woods.”
“And there were interesting plants; for example, I now know what one kind of nightshade looks like.”
“a species of nightshade, which is to be found abundantly in the neighbourhood of Jericho.”
Palestine or the Holy Land From the Earliest Period to the Present Time
“The plant is different from deadly nightshade which is rare in New Zealand.”
“From the mistranslation department: Culinaria one day featured baked "nightshade" as part of its takeaway menu.”
“Researchers have developed improved lines of amaranth, African eggplant, African nightshade, and cowpea, for example.”
The Huffington Post: Danielle Nierenberg: The Nutritional and Economic Potential of Vegetables
“In terms of crops, plants in the nightshade family including tomatoes, peppers and eggplants worked very well," he said.”
The Huffington Post: WATCH: How To Run New York's Largest Rooftop Garden
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘nightshade’.
-
-ight
light, night, wight, hight, knight, fight, bright, right, fright, bight, eight, might and 174 more...
-
Five Consecutive Consonants
A list of words containing five consecutive consonants
I do not include words containing "y" as part of the 5-letter string, since that letter invariably functions as a vowel, as in rhythm. <...heartstricken, heartstruck, wellspring, offspring, yachtsman, worthwhile, backstretch, backstroke, downstream, downstroke, breaststroke, birthstone and 188 more...
-
Flora
Flowers and plants have some of the most beautiful names.
These are often the common names, as opposed to the scientific or botanical names.daffodil, gardenia, tulip, snapdragon, violet, orchid, bleeding heart, daisy, lily, lilac, narcissus, rose and 278 more...
-
Consecutive Consonants
borscht, worthwhile, bronkhurstspruit, latchstring, hirschsprung's di..., backstroke, birthplace, birthstone, breaststroke, corkscrew, downstream, erstwhile and 26 more...
-
the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
-
flowers
-
inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
-
Flora
fenugreek, verbena, saxifrage, arbutus, calendula, nasturtium, lobelia, hellebore, rhododendron, philodendron, bellflower, heuchera and 449 more...
-
the gardener and apothecary's
bryony, chamomile, frond, sweet bay, laurel, monkshood, henbane, hemlock, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lady's mantle and 140 more...
-
Did Someone Say a Dinner Party?
It's a hazardous world out there...poison all around. I've tried not to include too many drugs (including medicines) and have ignored the fact that too much of anything can poison you. We're going ...
cyanide, botulinum, chlorine, mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide gas, mercury, arsenic, ricin, strychnine, aconite, acetic acid, acetone and 147 more...
-
Dain's Words
rabble, terminus, archaic, atavism, demiurge, waylay, syzygy, jocoserious, quark, entropy, cinnabar, shamble and 912 more...
-
Some Words I Love to Use
arcology, strumpet, crux, confected, pedant, bluestocking, cogitation, incensed, lovecraftian, cygnet, dactyl, adytum and 539 more...
-
As soon as I finish this chapter
x
procrastination, drily, rheumatism, rheum, suint, tiresome, wearisome, tiring, suboptimal, subpar, subprime, grange and 190 more...
-
librarygoblin's words
crystal, ghost, mist, snow, labyrinth, citadel, tomb, mystery, arcane, conundrum, echo, dynamo and 389 more...
-
flannagan's Words
netop, kenspeckle, loden, framboise, providence, milquetoast, schism, cadence, thrush, asphodel, clandestine, aesthete and 196 more...
-
Words + Phrases I Like
apotheosis, antipode, penumbra, umbra, bellatrix, zephyr, oblivion, nefarious, wicked, requiem, catalyst, ire and 89 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for nightshade.
hernesheir A strain of medicinal marijuana. Jan 15, 2010