rattlesnake root


noun
  1. any of certain composite plants of the genus Prenanthes, whose roots or tubers have been regarded as a remedy for snake bites, as P. serpentaria or P. alba.

  2. the root or tuber.

  1. the snakeroot, Polygala senega.

  2. its root.

Origin of rattlesnake root

1
First recorded in 1675–85

Words Nearby rattlesnake root

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rattlesnake root in a sentence

  • This is a different thing from the Seneca rattlesnake-root; there's more cure in an ounce of this than in a pound of that.

    A Dream of Empire | William Henry Venable
  • Ten years earlier a vogue for rattlesnake root had been established, apparently by those interested in promoting it.