belladonna
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L316905 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌbɛləˈdɑnə/ / /ˌbɛləˈdɒnə/
name
Etymology: See belladonna.
- A female given name.
“Oliver summed up his observations by conceding that in the early nineteen twenties before he — or, for that matter, she herself was born — Belladonna Jones might have been devastating.”
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian belladonna (altered by folk etymology: bella donna (“beautiful lady”)) from Medieval Latin blādōna (“nightshade”), of Gaulish origin. The folk etymology was motivated by the cosmetic use of nightshade for dilating the eyes.
- A plant, Atropa belladonna, having purple bell-shaped flowers and poisonous black glossy berries.
“Witches always anointed themselves with ointments before departing up the chimney to their Sabbaths. One such ointment was composed of Aconite, Belladonna, Water Parsley, Cinquefoil and Babies' Fat.”
- An alkaloid extracted from this plant, sometimes used medicinally, containing atropine.
“The elderly women who practiced herbalism and administered belladonna (a pain killer) to pregnant women were apt to be accused of witchcraft. The Medieval church was against the administration of belladonna because they believed women were meant to suffer pain in childbirth as a result of Eve's sin.”
“Cathy teetered downstairs on very high heels, her hair swept up in a disintegrating “brioche”, her eyes glistening with belladonna drops.”