poison

Etymology

From Middle English poisoun, poyson, poysone, puyson, puisun, from Old French puison, poison, from Latin pōtio, pōtiōnis (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“I drink”). Displaced native Old English ator. See also potion and potable.

Pronunciation

• enPR: poi'zən, IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɪz(ə)n/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪzən
• Hyphenation: poi‧son

Noun

poison (countable and uncountable, plural poisons)

1. A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism.

   We used a poison to kill the weeds.

2. Something that harms a person or thing.

   Gossip is a malicious poison.

3. (informal) A drink; liquor.

   — What's your poison?

   — I'll have a glass of whisky.

Verb

poison (third-person singular simple present poisons, present participle poisoning, simple past and past participle poisoned)

1. (transitive) To use poison to kill or paralyse somebody

   The assassin poisoned the king.

2. (transitive) To pollute; to cause some part of the environment to become poisonous

   That factory is poisoning the river.

3. (transitive) To cause something to become much worse

   Suspicion will poison their relationship.

   He poisoned the mood in the room with his non-stop criticism.

4. (transitive) To cause someone to hate or to have unfair negative opinions

   She's poisoned him against all his old friends.

References

• “poison” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2018.
• poison in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology

From Old French, inherited from Latin pōtio, pōtiōnis. Doublet of potion, a borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pwa.zɔ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

poison m (plural poisons)

1. poison

   Poisson sans boisson est poison — Fish gotta swim.

Further reading

• “poison” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Noun

poison

1. Alternative form of poisoun

Etymology

From Latin pōtio, pōtiōnis.

Noun

poison f (oblique plural poisons, nominative singular poison, nominative plural poisons)

1. poison
   • circa 1176, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès:

     Thessala tranpre sa poison

     Thessala mixed her poison

2. potion