strychnine

[ strik-nin, -neen, -nahyn ]

noun

1. Pharmacology. a colorless, crystalline poison, C 2 1 H 2 2 N 2 O 2 , obtained chiefly by extraction from the seeds of nux vomica, formerly used as a central nervous system stimulant.
2. an Indian tree, Strychnos nux-vomica, of the logania family, having small, yellowish-white flowers in clusters, berrylike fruit, and seeds that yield strychnine.

strychnine

/ ˈstrɪkniːn /

noun

1. a white crystalline very poisonous alkaloid, obtained from the plant nux vomica: formerly used in small quantities as a stimulant of the central nervous system and the appetite. Formula: C 21 H 22 O 2 N 2

strychnine

/ strĭk′nīn′ /

1. An extremely poisonous, white crystalline compound derived from the seeds of the nux vomica tree. Strychnine is an alkaloid and was formerly used in medicine to stimulate the nervous system. It is currently used as a rat poison. Chemical formula: C 21 H 22 O 2 N 2 .

Other Words From

• strychnic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of strychnine¹

1810–20; < French, equivalent to New Latin Strychn ( os ) genus name (< Greek strýchnos a kind of nightshade) + French -ine -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of strychnine¹

C19: via French from New Latin Strychnos, from Greek strukhnos nightshade

Example Sentences

Now let’s turn to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose campaign for president has allowed his dangerous anti-vaccine hogwash to be mainstreamed into the body politic like an IV drip of strychnine.

From Los Angeles Times

The university offered classes on Appalachian culture, where I learned about Pentecostal preachers who drank strychnine and took up serpents, but “Child of God” was far freakier.

From Los Angeles Times

As Young described her Ph.D. work illuminating how the poison strychnine exerts its effects at receptors for the neurotransmitter glycine in the spinal cord, Greenamyre became entranced.

From Science Magazine

The body bore the hallmarks of death by strychnine poisoning — bloodied eyes, canines bared in painful grimace, outstretched limbs.

From New York Times

Then again, its author is Noël Coward, whose view of matrimony was like a cocktail of Champagne and strychnine.

From New York Times