nightshade

[ nahyt-sheyd ]

noun
  1. any of various plants of the genus Solanum, especially the black nightshade or the bittersweet.

  2. any of various other related plants, as the deadly nightshade.

Origin of nightshade

1
before 1000; Middle English; Old English nihtscada.See night, shade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use nightshade in a sentence

  • No "Star of the East" dawned on the nightshades of my heart.

    Ernest Linwood | Caroline Lee Hentz

British Dictionary definitions for nightshade

nightshade

/ (ˈnaɪtˌʃeɪd) /


noun
  1. any of various solanaceous plants, such as deadly nightshade, woody nightshade, and black nightshade

Origin of nightshade

1
Old English nihtscada, apparently night + shade, referring to the poisonous or soporific qualities of these plants

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