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Poison   /pˈɔɪzən/   Listen
noun
Poison  n.  
1.
Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.
2.
That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin.
Poison ash. (Bot.)
(a)
A tree of the genus Amyris (Amyris balsamifera) found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous qualities.
(b)
The poison sumac (Rhus venenata). (U. S.)
Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac.
Poison fang (Zool.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which, besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates.
Poison gland (Biol.), a gland, in animals or plants, which secretes an acrid or venomous matter, that is conveyed along an organ capable of inflicting a wound.
Poison hemlock (Bot.), a poisonous umbelliferous plant (Conium maculatum). See Hemlock.
Poison ivy (Bot.), a poisonous climbing plant (formerly Rhus Toxicodendron, or Rhus radicans, now classified as Toxicodendron radicans) of North America. It is common as a climbing vine, especially found on tree trunks, or walls, or as a low, spreading vine or as a shrub. As a low vine it grows well in lightly shaded areas, recognizable by growing in clusters of three leaves. Its leaves are trifoliate, rhombic-ovate, and variously notched. Its form varies slightly from location to location, leading to some speculation that it may consist of more than one species. Many people are poisoned by it, though some appear resistant to its effects. Touching the leaves may leave a residue of an oil on the skin, and if not washed off quickly, sensitive areas of skin become reddened and develop multiple small blisters, lasting for several days to several weeks, and causing a persistent itch. The toxic reaction is due to an oil, present in all parts of the plant except the pollen, called urushiol, the active component of which is the compound pentadecylacatechol. See Poison sumac. It is related to poison oak, and is also called mercury.
Poison nut. (Bot.)
(a)
Nux vomica.
(b)
The tree which yields this seed (Strychnos Nuxvomica). It is found on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.
Poison oak (Bot.), a dermatitis-producing plant often lumped together with the poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) in common terminology, but more properly distinguished as the more shrubby Toxicodendron quercifolium (syn. Toxicodendron diversilobum), common in California and Oregon. Opinion varies as to whether the poison oak and poison ivy are only variants of a single species. See poison ivy, above.
Poison sac. (Zool.) Same as Poison gland, above.
Poison sumac (Bot.), a poisonous shrub formerly considered to be of the genus Rhus (Rhus venenata), but now classified as Toxicodendron vernix; also called poison ash, poison dogwood, and poison elder. It has pinnate leaves on graceful and slender common petioles, and usually grows in swampy places. Both this plant and the poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, formerly Rhus Toxicodendron) have clusters of smooth greenish white berries, while the red-fruited species of this genus are harmless. The tree (Rhus vernicifera) which yields the celebrated Japan lacquer is almost identical with the poison sumac, and is also very poisonous. The juice of the poison sumac also forms a lacquer similar to that of Japan.
Synonyms: Venom; virus; bane; pest; malignity. Poison, Venom. Poison usually denotes something received into the system by the mouth, breath, etc. Venom is something discharged from animals and received by means of a wound, as by the bite or sting of serpents, scorpions, etc. Hence, venom specifically implies some malignity of nature or purpose.


verb
Poison  v. t.  (past & past part. poisoned; pres. part. poisoning)  
1.
To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink. "The ingredients of our poisoned chalice."
2.
To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to. "If you poison us, do we not die?"
3.
To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind. "Whispering tongues can poison truth."


Poison  v. i.  To act as, or convey, a poison. "Tooth that poisons if it bite."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Poison" Quotes from Famous Books



... affected by cold and heat, and obliged to nurse himself throughout with the care of a valetudinarian, he does not appear to have had any return of illness so serious as the preceding; and dying at the age of seventy-four, the rumor obtained popular currency that he was prematurely cut off by poison administered by ...
— The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VI (of X)--Great Britain and Ireland IV • Various
... of magnanimity in all countries. Will modern man rise to the ordering of a sane, a free, a generous life? Each of us loves his own country best, be it a little land or the greatest on earth; but jealousy is the dark thing, the creeping poison. Where there is true greatness, let us acclaim it; where there is true worth, let us prize it—as if it were ...
— Another Sheaf • John Galsworthy
... idols against which he had in earlier days protested, and then made an ineffectual attempt to take possession of Palestine. [Sidenote: His death.] Mahomet died on June 8th, A.D. 632, partly from the effects of poison, which had been given to him some years before, and partly from the consequences of a ...
— A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Ancient) • John Henry Blunt
... the eyes of contemporaries should discover in the public felicity the latent causes of decay and corruption. This long peace, and the uniform government of the Romans, introduced a slow and secret poison into the vitals of the empire. The minds of men were gradually reduced to the same level, the fire of genius was extinguished, and even the military spirit evaporated. The natives of Europe were brave and robust. Spain, Gaul, Britain, ...
— The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume 1 • Edward Gibbon
... earth to heaven. Whatever the Preacher may have thought it in a moment of despondency, what is it but a blessing that "sun, and wind, and rivers, and ocean," as he says, and "all things, are full of labour—man cannot utter it." This sea which bears us would rot and poison, did it not sweep in and out here twice a day in swift refreshing current; nay, more, in the very water which laps against our bows troops of negro girls may have hunted the purblind shark in West Indian harbours, beneath glaring white-walled towns, with their rows of green jalousies, and cocoa- ...
— Prose Idylls • Charles Kingsley


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