rattlesnake root

American  

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.

3. the snakeroot, Polygala senega.

4. its root.

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Etymology

Origin of rattlesnake root

First recorded in 1675–85

Example Sentences

I found near our camp some plants of that kind of Rattlesnake root, called star-grass.

From Choice Specimens of American Literature, and Literary Reader Being Selections from the Chief American Writers by Martin, Benj. N.