[hem-lok] 
| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | a poisonous drink made from this plant. |
| 3. | any of various other plants, esp. of the genus Cicuta, as the water hemlock. |
| 4. | 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. |
| 5. | the soft, light wood of a hemlock tree, used in making paper, in the construction of buildings, etc. |
hem·lock (hěm'lŏk')  (click for larger image in new window) n.
[Middle English hemlok, poisonous hemlock, from Old English hymlice, hemlic.] |
Hemlock
(1.) Heb. rosh (Hos. 10:4; rendered "gall" in Deut. 29:18; 32:32; Ps. 69:21; Jer. 9:15; 23:15; "poison," Job 20:16; "venom," Deut. 32:33). "Rosh is the name of some poisonous plant which grows quickly and luxuriantly; of a bitter taste, and therefore coupled with wormwood (Deut. 29:18; Lam. 3:19). Hence it would seem to be not the hemlock cicuta, nor the colocynth or wild gourd, nor lolium darnel, but the poppy so called from its heads" (Gesenius, Lex.). (2.) Heb. la'anah, generally rendered "wormwood" (q.v.), Deut. 29:18, Text 17; Prov. 5:4; Jer. 9:15; 23:15. Once it is rendered "hemlock" (Amos 6:12; R.V., "wormwood"). This Hebrew word is from a root meaning "to curse," hence the accursed.
