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hemlock

[ hem-lok ]

noun

  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, especially 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.


hemlock

/ ˈhɛmˌlɒk /

noun

  1. an umbelliferous poisonous Eurasian plant, Conium maculatum, having finely divided leaves, spotted stems, and small white flowers US namepoison hemlock See also water hemlock
  2. a poisonous drug derived from this plant
  3. Also calledhemlock spruce any coniferous tree of the genus Tsuga, of North America and E Asia, having short flat needles: family Pinaceae See also western hemlock
  4. the wood of any of these trees, used for lumber and as a source of wood pulp


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Word History and Origins

Origin of hemlock1

before 900; Middle English hemlok, humlok, Old English hymlic, hemlic; perhaps akin to Old English hymele hop plant

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Word History and Origins

Origin of hemlock1

Old English hymlic; perhaps related to hymele hop plant, Middle Low German homele, Old Norwegian humli, Old Slavonic chǔmelï

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Example Sentences

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.

He figures on starting in early March, likely in Hemlock Alley, off Polk Street, near a present needle exchange.

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.

A hemlock had fallen athwart it, and they sat down where they could look out upon a majestic panorama of towering rock and snow.

Moss was placed between the logs to keep out the wind, and a thick roof was made from hemlock boughs.

The clear, colorless distillate had an alkaline reaction, and an odor resembling henbane or hemlock.

Pine or hemlock boughs are a good substitute for tar, and afford a most healthful change in the winter-food of sheep.

Now condemned to death, Socrates was put into prison, where some days after, he died by drinking the poison hemlock.

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