digitalis

American  

[dij-i-tal-is, -tey-lis] / ˌdɪdʒ ɪˈtæl ɪs, -ˈteɪ lɪs /

noun

1. any plant belonging to the genus Digitalis, of the figwort family, especially the common foxglove, D. purpurea.

2. the dried leaves of the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, used in medicine as a heart stimulant.

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digitalis British  

/ ˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪlɪs /

noun

1. any Eurasian scrophulariaceous plant of the genus Digitalis, such as the foxglove, having bell-shaped flowers and a basal rosette of leaves

2. 1. a drug prepared from the dried leaves or seeds of the foxglove: a mixture of glycosides used medicinally to treat heart failure and some abnormal heart rhythms

   2. any cardiac glycoside, whatever its origin

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digitalis Scientific  

/ dĭj′ĭ-tăl′ĭs /

1. A drug prepared from the seeds and dried leaves of the purple foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, and prescribed as a cardiac stimulant in the treatment of congestive heart failure and other disorders of the heart.

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Etymology

Origin of digitalis

1655–65; < New Latin digitālis, a name apparently suggested by the German name for the foxglove, Fingerhut literally, thimble; see digital

Example Sentences

Foxglove - digitalis - is a source of digitoxin, a glycoside in the drug digitalis, which has been used as a heart stimulant since 1785.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2023

I felt reduced into an almost hypnotic state — a paralysis digitalis.

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2022

In late spring there are parrot tulips everywhere, and the belled stalks of purple digitalis burst through blossoms of yellow euphorbia.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2021

This week I met Hossein Derakhshan, a true Homo digitalis once known as Iran’s “blogfather”, whose activities earned him six years in prison.

From The Guardian • Mar. 23, 2018

He did not even take digitalis or morphine.

From Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician by Alcott, William A. (William Andrus)