hemlock
[hem-lok]
- a poisonous plant, Conium maculatum, of the parsley family, having purple-spotted stems, finely divided leaves, and umbels of small white flowers, used medicinally as a powerful sedative.
- a poisonous drink made from this plant.
- any of various other plants, especially of the genus Cicuta, as the water hemlock.
- Also called hemlock spruce. any of several coniferous trees of the genus Tsuga, native to the U.S., characterized by a pyramidal manner of growth.Compare eastern hemlock, western hemlock.
- the soft, light wood of a hemlock tree, used in making paper, in the construction of buildings, etc.
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Origin of hemlock
before 900; Middle English hemlok, humlok, Old English hymlic, hemlic; perhaps akin to Old English hymele hop plant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hemlock
Contemporary Examples
Upstairs, in the living room, splintered logs of hemlock cackled and spat from inside the wood stove.
In the interim, Herring took a short break from the band to dabble in his side-project—rapping under the moniker Hemlock Ernst.
Future Islands Frontman Samuel T. Herring on Their 11-Year Journey to Letterman and Viral StardomMarlow Stern
April 3, 2014
He figures on starting in early March, likely in Hemlock Alley, off Polk Street, near a present needle exchange.
Clean Crack Pipes for All! San Francisco’s Final Social Justice FrontierMichael Daly
January 31, 2014
But Hemlock Grove does not feel like a step in the right direction.
Horror aficionados may lap this up, but for me, Hemlock Grove is about as appealing as curdled milk.
Historical Examples
But remember to touch your beaver where the hemlock boughs are low.
They require moist and shady places and the presence of hemlock trees.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
Some Socrates of the future may yet envy that other his hemlock.
The Goat-gland TransplantationSydney B. Flower
Something about a fellow named Socrates who was given a cup of hemlock to drink.
Acid BathVaseleos Garson
Ahead of them was the dimness of the hemlock forest; the solitude of the storm.
Glory of YouthTemple Bailey
hemlock
- an umbelliferous poisonous Eurasian plant, Conium maculatum, having finely divided leaves, spotted stems, and small white flowersUS name: poison hemlock See also water hemlock
- a poisonous drug derived from this plant
- Also called: hemlock spruce any coniferous tree of the genus Tsuga, of North America and E Asia, having short flat needles: family PinaceaeSee also western hemlock
- the wood of any of these trees, used for lumber and as a source of wood pulp
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Word Origin
Old English hymlic; perhaps related to hymele hop plant, Middle Low German homele, Old Norwegian humli, Old Slavonic chǔmelï
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hemlock
n.
a poisonous plant, Old English (Kentish) hemlic, earlier hymlice, hymblice; of unknown origin. Liberman suggests from root hem- "poison," perhaps with the plant name suffix -ling or -ig. As the name of the poison derived from the plant, c.1600. The North American tree so called from 1776, from resemblance of its leaves to those of the plant.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper