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nightshade

noun

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L324463 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈnaɪt.ʃeɪd/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English nyȝtschade, niȝteschode, nyght shade, from Old English nihtsċada, from Proto-West Germanic *nahtskadō (“nightshade”), corresponding to night + shade. Compare Dutch nachtschade (“nightshade”), German Nachtschatten (“nightshade”).

  1. Any of the poisonous plants belonging to the genus Solanum, especially black nightshade or woody nightshade.
  2. Any plant of the wider Solanaceae family, including the nightshades as well as tomato, potato, eggplant, and deadly nightshade.
  3. Belladonna or deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna).
  4. Any of several plants likened to nightshade, usually because of similar dark-colored berries.