noun
hemlock
HEHM-lok
noun
1
A highly poisonous flowering plant, or the deadly poison extracted from it.
"In ancient Athens, condemned prisoners were sometimes executed by drinking hemlock."
"All parts of the hemlock plant are toxic if eaten."
2
A type of coniferous evergreen tree native to North America, unrelated to the poisonous plant despite sharing the name.
"The trail wound through a forest of tall hemlock trees."
How to Use Hemlock
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishUsually means the deadly poisonous plant famous for killing Socrates; can also mean an unrelated evergreen tree.
Common mistake
The hemlock tree is not poisonous — only the herbaceous hemlock plant (and its relative, water hemlock) is deadly.
Word Forms
hemlocks plural
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In ancient Athens, condemned prisoners were sometimes executed by drinking _____.
Etymology
From Old English hemlic or hymlice, of uncertain deeper origin — the poisonous plant and the unrelated hemlock tree just happen to share the same English name.