digitalis
UK /dɪdʒɪˈtɑːlɪs/ · US /dɪd͡ʒɪˈtælɪs/ noun
Forms digitalises
- noun Any plant of the genus Digitalis (herbaceous plants of the Plantaginaceae family, including the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea).
- noun (medicine) A medical extract of Digitalis purpurea prescribed for heart failure etc.
Synonyms
Etymology
Modern Latin, from Latin digitālis (“of the fingers”) (named in reference to the German common name for the plant, Fingerhut (“thimble”)). Doublet of digital.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A genus of plants including the foxglove.
- noun The dried leaves of the purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), used in heart disease, disturbance of the circulation, etc.
Etymology [NL.: cf. F. digitale. So named (according to Linnæus) from its finger-shaped corolla.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “digitalis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details