COLCHICUM

Colchicum, genus Colchicum

(noun) chiefly fall-blooming perennial cormous herbs; sometimes placed in family Colchicaceae

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

colchicum (countable and uncountable, plural colchicums)

(countable) Any of several flowers of the genus Colchicum.

(uncountable, medicine) The dried seed of the poisonous meadow saffron, Colchicum autumnale, used medicinally.

Source: Wiktionary


Col"chi*cum, n. Etym: [L., a plant with a poisonous root, fr. Colchicus Colchian, fr. Colchis, Gr. (Bot.)

Definition: A genus of bulbous-rooted plants found in many parts of Europe, including the meadow saffron.

Note: Preparations made from the poisonous bulbs and seeds, and perhaps from the flowers, of the Colchicum autumnale (meadow saffron) are used as remedies for gout and rheumatism.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

21 April 2025

ENCYCLOPEDIA

(noun) a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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