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digitalis definition

digi·talis (dij′i talis; also, -tālis)

noun

  1. any of a genus (Digitalis) of plants of the figwort family, with long spikes of thimblelike flowers; foxglove
  2. the dried leaves of a common digitalis plant (Digitalis purpurea) that usually has purple flowers
  3. a medicine made from these leaves, used as a heart stimulant

Etymology: ModL, foxglove < L digitalis, belonging to the finger < digitus, a finger, digit: so named (1542) by L. Fuchs (see fuchsia), from its thimblelike flowers, after the Ger name fingerhut, thimble

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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