belladonna

English

/ˌbɛləˈdɑnə/, /ˌbɛləˈdɒnə/

noun
Definitions
  • A plant, Atropa belladonna (Atropa belladonna), having purple bell-shaped flowers and poisonous black glossy berries.
  • An alkaloid extracted from this plant, sometimes used medicinally, containing atropine.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian belladonna (it, beautiful lady, bella donna, nightshade) derived from Latin blādōna (nightshade).

Origin

Latin

blādōna

Gloss

nightshade

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms