ordeal bean

noun

1. Calabar bean.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordeal bean¹

First recorded in 1880–85; so called because it was allegedly administered as a test to persons suspected of witchcraft

Example Sentences

Calabar-bean, k�l′a-b�r-bēn, n. the seed of Physostigma venenosum, the ordeal bean of Old Calabar, used in the form of an emulsion in cases of witchcraft, the accused being plainly innocent if he can throw off the poison by vomiting.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

Calabar Bean, seed of an African bean, employed in medicine, known as the Ordeal Bean, as, being poisonous, having been used to test the innocence of people charged with witchcraft.

Read more on Project Gutenberg