Belladonna Definition

bĕlə-dŏnə
noun
A poisonous European plant (Atropa belladonna) of the nightshade family, with purplish or reddish bell-shaped flowers and shiny black berries; deadly nightshade: it is a source of atropine.
Webster's New World

Atropine.

Webster's New World
A poisonous perennial herb (Atropa belladonna) native to Eurasia and northern Africa and naturalized in parts of North America, having nodding, purplish-brown, bell-shaped flowers and glossy black berries.
American Heritage Medicine
An alkaloidal extract or tincture derived from this plant and used in medicine.
American Heritage Medicine

A plant, Atropa belladonna, having purple bell-shaped flowers and poisonous black glossy berries; deadly nightshade.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Belladonna

Noun

Singular:
belladonna
Plural:
belladonnas

Origin of Belladonna

  • Italian bella feminine of bello beautiful (from Latin bellus deu-2 in Indo-European roots) donna lady Donna (the plant perhaps being so called because women of Italian courts during the Renaissance are said to have used the juice of belladonna berries to make their eyes more attractive by dilating their pupils)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Italian bella donna, literally 'beautiful lady', altered by folk etymology from Medieval Latin bladona 'nightshade', from Gaulish. The folk etymology was motivated by the cosmetic use of nightshade for dilating the eyes.

    From Wiktionary

Belladonna Sentence Examples

  • Belladonna, the Belladonna Lily, 3 ft., has large funnel-shaped flowers in September, of a delicate rose colour.

  • The external uses of the drug are mainly analgesic. The liniment or plaster of belladonna will relieve many forms of local pain.

  • In treating an actual and present attack of asthma, it is advisable to give the standardized tincture of belladonna - unless expense is no consideration, in which case atropine may itself be used - in doses of twenty minims every quarter of an hour as long as no evil effects appear.

  • The symptoms of poisoning by belladonna or atropine are dealt with above.

  • But by the addition of some antiseptic to the ointment its defensive action would be converted from passive to active, and its power to prevent infection would become greater; and if inflammation had already set up in the skin, the addition of opium, belladonna, or cocaine would lessen local pain; and an astringent, either metallic or organic, would restrain inflammation and accelerate repair.

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Words Starting With

BBEBEL

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belladonna

Words Starting With B and Ending With A

Starts With B & Ends With AStarts With BE & Ends With AStarts With B & Ends With NA

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10 Letter Words10 Letter Words Starting With B10 Letter Words Ending With A