MEZEREON

mezereon, February daphne, Daphne mezereum

(noun) small European deciduous shrub with fragrant lilac-colored flowers followed by red berries on highly toxic twigs

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

mezereon (countable and uncountable, plural mezereons)

An ornamental shrub, Daphne mezereum, having purple flowers and bright red fruit.

Synonyms: spurge olive, February daphne

The dried bark of this plant, once used as a vesicant.

Source: Wiktionary


Me*ze"re*on, n. Etym: [F. mézéréon, Per. mazriyun.] (Bot.)

Definition: A small European shrub (Daphne Mezereum), whose acrid bark is used in medicine.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 June 2025

PUNGENCY

(noun) wit having a sharp and caustic quality; “he commented with typical pungency”; “the bite of satire”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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