henbane

[ hen-beyn ]

/ ˈhɛnˌbeɪn /

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noun

an Old World plant, Hyoscyamus niger, of the nightshade family, having sticky, hairy fetid foliage and greenish-yellow flowers, and possessing narcotic and poisonous properties especially destructive to domestic fowls.

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Origin of henbane

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at hen, bane

Words nearby henbane

hempy, hemstitch, hen, Henan, hen-and-chickens, henbane, henbit, hence, henceforth, Hench, henchman

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use henbane in a sentence

The clear, colorless distillate had an alkaline reaction, and an odor resembling henbane or hemlock.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme
He prepared a boiled oil of hyoscyamus, or henbane, in the usual way, with common oil.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
Small doses of tincture of henbane have also often a like effect.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Here he found Henbane Dwining, on whom it was his hard fate to depend for consolation in both respects.
The Fair Maid of Perth|Sir Walter Scott

"Nay, it is only worthy Master Henbane Dwining," answered one of the sibyls.
The Fair Maid of Perth|Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for henbane

henbane

/ (ˈhɛnˌbeɪn) /

noun

a poisonous solanaceous European plant, Hyoscyamus niger, with sticky hairy leaves and funnel-shaped greenish flowers: yields the drug hyoscyamine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012