nightshade
/ˈnaɪt.ʃeɪd/ noun
Forms nightshades
- noun Any of the poisonous plants belonging to the genus Solanum, especially black nightshade or woody nightshade.
- noun (colloquial) Any plant of the wider Solanaceae family, including the nightshades as well as tomato, potato, eggplant, and deadly nightshade.
- noun Belladonna or deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna).
- noun Any of several plants likened to nightshade, usually because of similar dark-colored berries.
Etymology
From Middle English nyȝtschade, niȝteschode, nyght shade, from Old English nihtsċada, from Proto-West Germanic *nahtskadō (“nightshade”), corresponding to night + shade. Compare Dutch nachtschade (“nightshade”), German Nachtschatten (“nightshade”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A common name of many species of the genus Solanum, given esp. to the Solanum nigrum, or black nightshade, a low, branching weed with small white flowers and black berries reputed to be poisonous.
Etymology [AS. nichtscadu.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nightshade”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details