Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A white crystalline glycoside, C36H56O14, that is obtained from the seeds of the common foxglove.
  • noun One of several mixtures of digitalis glycosides that are extracted from the leaves or seeds of the common foxglove.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The substance or substances isolated from the leaves of Digtitalis purpurea as its active principle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Medicine, Pharmacy) Any one of several extracts of foxglove (Digitalis), as the “French extract,” the “German extract,” etc., which differ among themselves in composition and properties. Both Digitalis lanata and Digitalis purpurea have been used to prepare such extracts.
  • noun (Chem.) the distinctive chemical substance, a steroid glycoside, which is the essential ingredient of the extracts of foxglove. It is a white, crystalline substance (C36H56O14), and is a 3-substituted diglucoside of a steroid. It is a powerful cardiac stimulant and is used as a cardiotonic for treatment of certain heart conditions, such as congestive heart failure. Chemically it is (3β,5β,16β)-3-[6-Deoxy-4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3-O-methyl-β-D-galactopyranosyl)oxy]-14,16-dihyroxy-card-20(22)-enolide. The related compounds digitoxin and digoxin are also extracted from the foxglove. The class of steroid glycosides having cardiotonic properties are refered to as the cardiac glycosides.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of a mixture of glycosides, extracted from the foxglove plant, that is used as a cardiotonic

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a powerful cardiac stimulant obtained from foxglove

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[digital(is) + –in.]

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Examples

  • Foxgloves contain digitalin, one of whose effects is to make the heart muscle pump harder - potentially useful in cases of congestive heart failure, but fatal in overdose.

    Foxgloves Carla 2008

  • Foxgloves contain digitalin, one of whose effects is to make the heart muscle pump harder - potentially useful in cases of congestive heart failure, but fatal in overdose.

    Archive 2008-07-01 Carla 2008

  • The latter were filled with a small amount of digitalin, which was not enough to cause any problems, and a massive amount of atropine.

    The 13 Culprits Simenon, Georges, 1903- 2002

  • I gave him an intramuscular injection of digitalin and another of morphine hydrochloride, which he accepted with apparent pleasure as part of the game.

    Favourite Dog Stories Herriot, James 1995

  • Futile or not, I rummaged through the contents of my case for the digitalin I had made for him.

    Dragonfly in Amber Gabaldon, Diana 1992

  • It wasn't digitalin, but his purpose that sustained him now, lighting him with a glow as though a candle burned behind the waxy skin of his face.

    Dragonfly in Amber Gabaldon, Diana 1992

  • Mightn't digitalin have been used just for that reason, that it was available to everyone?

    Crime On the Coast Carr, John Dickson 1984

  • The only thing they did not agree on was whether the digitalin was sufficient to cause death.

    Crime On the Coast Carr, John Dickson 1984

  • Or had she deliberately kept me down there, knowing more about the effects of digitalin than I?

    Crime On the Coast Carr, John Dickson 1984

  • I had assumed that the digitalin must have come from the foxgloves at the foot of the garden.

    Crime On the Coast Carr, John Dickson 1984

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