In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.
POISON
poison
(noun) anything that harms or destroys; “the poison of fascism”
poison, toxicant, poisonous substance
(noun) any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism
poison
(verb) administer poison to; “She poisoned her husband but he did not die”
poison, envenom
(verb) add poison to; “Her husband poisoned her drink in order to kill her”
poison
(verb) kill with poison; “She poisoned her husband”
poison
(verb) kill by its poison; “This mushrooms can poison”
poison
(verb) spoil as if by poison; “poison someone’s mind”; “poison the atmosphere in the office”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
poison (countable and uncountable, plural poisons)
A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism.
Something that harms a person or thing.
(informal) A drink; liquor.
(chemistry) Any substance that inhibits catalytic activity.
Synonyms
• (substance that is harmful): atter, bane, contaminant, pollutant, toxin, venom
Verb
poison (third-person singular simple present poisons, present participle poisoning, simple past and past participle poisoned)
(transitive) To use poison to kill or paralyse (somebody).
(transitive) To pollute; to cause to become poisonous.
(transitive) To cause to become much worse.
(transitive) To cause (someone) to hate or to have unfair negative opinions.
(chemistry) To inhibit the catalytic activity of.
(transitive, computing) To place false information into (a cache) as part of an exploit.
Synonyms
• (to pollute): contaminate, pollute, taint
• (to cause to become worse): corrupt, taint
Source: Wiktionary
Poi"son, n. Etym: [F. poison, in Old French also, a potion, fr. L. potio a drink, draught, potion, a poisonous draught, fr. potare to drink. See Potable, and cf. Potion.]
1. Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.
2. That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin. Poison ash. (Bot.) (a) A tree of the genus Amyris (A. balsamifera) found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous qualities. (b) The poison sumac (Rhus venenata). [U. S.] -- Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac.
– Poison fang (Zoöl.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which, besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates. See Illust. under Fang.
– Poison gland (Biol.), a gland, in animals or plants, which secretes an acrid or venomous matter, that is conveyed along an organ capable of inflicting a wound.
– Poison hemlock (Bot.), a poisonous umbelliferous plant (Conium maculatum). See Hemlock.
– Poison ivy (Bot.), a poisonous climbing plant (Rhus Toxicodendron) of North America. It is common on stone walls and on the trunks of trees, and has trifoliate, rhombic-ovate, variously notched leaves. Many people are poisoned by it, if they touch the leaves. See Poison sumac. Called also poison oak, and mercury.
– Poison nut. (Bot.) (a) Nux vomica. (b) The tree which yields this seed (Strychnos Nuxvomica). It is found on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.
– Poison oak (Bot.), the poison ivy; also, the more shrubby Rhus diversiloba of California and Oregon. Poison sac. (Zoöl.) Same as Poison gland, above. See Illust. under Fang.
– Poison sumac (Bot.), a poisonous shrub of the genus Rhus (R. venenata); -- also called poison ash, poison dogwood, and poison elder. It has pinnate leaves on graceful and slender common petioles, and usually grows in swampy places. Both this plant and the poison ivy (Rhus Toxicodendron) have clusters of smooth greenish white berries, while the red-fruited species of this genus are harmless. The tree (Rhus vernicifera) which yields the celebrated Japan lacquer is almost identical with the poison sumac, and is also very poisonous. The juice of the poison sumac also forms a lacquer similar to that of Japan.
Syn.
– Venom; virus; bane; pest; malignity.
– Poison, Venom. Poison usually denotes something received into the system by the mouth, breath, etc. Venom is something discharged from animals and received by means of a wound, as by the bite or sting of serpents, scorpions, etc. Hence, venom specifically implies some malignity of nature or purpose.
Poi"son, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poisoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Poisoning.] Etym: [Cf. OF. poisonner, F. empoissoner, L. potionare to give to drink. See Poison, n.]
1. To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink. "The ingredients of our poisoned chalice." Shak.
2. To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to. If you poison us, do we not die Shak.
3. To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind. Whispering tongues can poison truth. Coleridge.
Poi"son, v. i.
Definition: To act as, or convey, a poison. Tooth that poisons if it bite. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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