hemlock

Etymology

From Middle English hemlok, hemeluc, from Old English hymlīc, hymlīce (“hemlock, bryony,convulvus”, literally “hops-like”), from hymele (“hop-vine”), from Proto-Germanic *humalaz, *humalōn, of unknown origin. Perhaps from Scythian *haumala, a diminutive of *hauma (“ephedra; juice”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma from Proto-Indo-European *seue- (“to suck; juice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛmˌlɒk/

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Noun

hemlock (countable and uncountable, plural hemlocks)

1. Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera
   1. Conium, either Conium maculatum or Conium chaerophylloides.
   2. Cicuta, water hemlock plant.
2. The poison obtained from these Conium and Cicuta plants.
3. Any of several coniferous trees, of the genus Tsuga, that grow in North America; the wood of such trees.