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poisonn. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French poisoun, poison. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman poisoun, Anglo-Norman and Old French poisun, puisun, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French poison, puison, puisson, Old French poisson, pouson, Middle French poyson (French poison ) drink, draught (end of the 11th cent.), poisonous drink (1155), potion, medicinal drink (c1165), poisonous substance (1342) < classical Latin pōtiōn- , pōtiō (see potion n.). Compare Old Occitan, Occitan poison drink, draught (c1150), potion (c1200), poison (early 13th cent.).The β. forms reflect variation in the diphthong in Anglo-Norman and Old French: see further E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §255. I. Literal uses. 1. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > draught c1225 (?c1200) (Bodl.) (1940) 477 Ȝef þu him muche luuest & he let lutel to þe, hit greueð þe se swiðe þet tu wult inoh-reaðe..makien him poisun [a1250 Titus puisun]. c1300 St. Kenelm (Laud) 99 in C. Horstmann (1887) 348 (MED) Þo þat poysun him was i-ȝiue..Ore louerdes miȝte was so muche þat no-þe worse him nas. a1325 (c1280) (Pepys 2344) (1927) 2350 (MED) Hi hadde power To hele men of poysoun and of venym. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 3457 (MED) Hii enuenimed..Þe welle..Þat þet water þat þer of com poyson was wel strong. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 75 Many metes bene holsom to an hole man þat bene poysone to a sike man. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll.) 373 Hir husbonde founde the pyese with wyne wherein was the poysoun. c1480 (a1400) St. Paul 699 in W. M. Metcalfe (1896) I. 49 He deit..of a fellone poyssone, myngit and mad be tresone. a1500 (?a1400) (1903) 847 (MED) A squyer..hath thought..With a poyson þat he hath wrought To slae Gawayne. a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Wolf & Lamb l. 2676 in (1981) 99 Thy father thocht to mak ane strang poysoun, And with his mouth in to my watter spew. 1535 Psalms cxxxix. [cxl.] 3 Adders poyson is vnder their lippes. 1590 in R. Pitcairn (1833) I. ii. 195 Quha..brayit the same poysoune, and putt itt in ane pece ledder and delyuerit itt to thé. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus vii. 295 Heere is also a most strong and deadly poison, one graine whereof being diuided amongst ten persons, will kill them all. 1661 R. Lovell Isagoge sig. B8 The teeth are serrate and sharp, and two are..perforate, by which they ejaculate their poyson. 1741 C. Middleton I. v. 348 [He] put an end to his life by poyson. 1776 D. Bellamy 64 He may as well suppose, that when he has swallowed poison, it will have no violent operation. 1821 Ld. Byron Two Foscari i. i, in 197 Each breath Of foreign air he draws seems a slow poison. 1855 D. Brewster (new ed.) II. xxv. 372 A virulent poison may differ from the most wholesome food only in the difference of quantity of the very same ingredients. 1926 J. K. Strecker in J. F. Dobie 60 You are told not to kill a hoop or stinging snake with a stick, ‘because de pison run up yo arm an kill you’. 1974 M. C. Gerald iii. 57 Strychnine and red squill have been used as a rat poisons. 1984 N. N. Greenwood & A. Earnshaw (1986) x. 427 Lead is now recognized as a heavy-metal poison. 2004 28 July 8/3 Other examples of self-harm include gouging, swallowing poisons like bleach and ingesting objects. the mind > emotion > hatred > loathing or detestation > loathe [verb (transitive)] 1530 J. Palsgrave f. cclviiiv He gyueth me fayre wordes and yet he hateth me lyke poyson. 1645 J. Milton 13 To hate one another like a toad or poison. 1796 F. Burney II. iii. v. 103 This Latin master studies chiefly with the governess?—They'd study fisty-cuffs I believe, if they did, says I, for she hates him like poison. 1821 W. Scott I. v. 103 I hate him like strong poison. 1864 A. Trollope in Dec. 931/1 Everybody liked Barty,—excepting only Mally Trenglos, and she hated him like poison. 1905 H. A. Vachell i. 20 ‘He hates me like poison,’ said Duff. 1938 D. Baker iii. i. 158 All of them laughed and Jack looked happier. He hated like poison not to be a smart boy all the time. 1974 ‘M. Innes’ xii. 97 Enormous sums vanishing in bitter law-suits, which is a thought the wealthy hate like poison. 2002 (Nexis) 7 Apr. c12 There are two schools of thought when it comes to snakes. Some people, maybe the majority, hate them like poison. the world > food and drink > drink > [noun] > a drink or draught > for specific purpose the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines of specific form > medicinal potion or draught > [noun] c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. 52 (MED) Poysoun on a pole þei put vp to his lippes. 1481 W. Caxton tr. ii. xx. 110 Waters..whiche somme men drynke for to be heled of their maladyes in stede of poyson. 1569 R. Grafton II. 218 By the meane of a sleapyng poyson or drinke that he gaue to his kepers..he escaped. 1578 J. Lyly f. 62 The Phisition by minglinge bitter poysons with sweete liquor, bringeth healthe to the body. 1817 W. Hazlitt 146 The conflict in her bosom between apprehension and love when she [sc. Juliet] comes to take the sleeping poison. II. Extended uses. 3. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun] > harmful principle, practice, etc. the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > harm or injury > [noun] > cause of > to body politic c1225 (?c1200) (1973) 2312 (MED) Þe king, as þe þet wes fordrenct wið þes deoules puisun [v.r. puissun], nuste hwet meanen. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) i. 515 (MED) Iason..nouȝt aduerteth þe menyng fraudelent, Þe prevy poysoun vnder sugre cured. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 97 Tresonable folk thar mater wyrkis throu lyst Poyson sen syn ‘at the Fawkyrk’ is cald. 1526 W. Bonde ii. sig. Kiiii O poyson of all poysons in religion moste to be feared. c1560 A. Scott (1896) xv. 17 My breist is woyd and purgit of pussoun. a1605 R. Bannatyne (1806) 192 The clocked poysone that so long hes lyine in thy feanyeat breast. 1651 T. Hobbes ii. xxix. 168 The poyson of seditious doctrines. 1728 E. Haywood tr. M.-A. de Gomez (1732) II. 157 Flattery is a Poison easily swallowed. 1776 A. Smith II. v. i. 385 Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition. View more context for this quotation 1804 S. T. Coleridge (1956) II. 1035 Since then we have had little else than Rain, or Snow, or Thaw—or Drizzle—or Thaw-Winds—all deadly Poisons to me. 1838 C. Thirlwall (new ed.) III. xxi. 204 The poison of incurable suspicion perverted every noble feeling. 1906 R. Kipling 267 Good-will..is meat an' drink to 'em, an' ill-will is poison. 1989 Sept. 91/4 Sports movies are box office poison. the mind > emotion > hatred > object of detestation (person or thing) > [noun] 1875 A. Trollope II. xcvii. 298 I say that he is poison to me, and I say that he had so stuffed her mind with the flagrant sin of that journey..till that had become the one stumbling block on your path to happiness. 1876 F. K. Robinson ‘A parfit puzzom’, morally, a thoroughly pernicious individual. 1910 W. M. Raine 28 They say he's part Spanish and part Indian, but all pisen. 1964 L. Deighton xlii. 262 You are poison to Gehlen... There isn't a place left in the whole world where you would get a sniff of a job. 1984 A. F. Loewenstein 201 ‘Straight women are poison,’ she told herself for the hundredth time. ‘Keep your hands off.’ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] 1805 ‘Red Jacket’ in 2 388 We gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return. [note] Alluding it is supposed to ardent spirits. 1866 ‘M. Twain’ (1967) 85 In Washoe, when you are..invited to take ‘your regular pison’, etiquette admonishes you to touch glasses. 1909 E. Waltham 31 A huge rough-and-ready miner accosts us thusly ‘Well mate, what's your poison?’ 1965 E. Brown xvii. 157 ‘What's your poison tonight, miss?’ ‘Make it a gin and bitter lemon.’ 2014 (Nexis) 24 Feb. Whisky is his poison these days, Talisker if you're buying. 5. the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > processes or substances affecting reactions > catalysis > catalyst > substance which destroys or reduces activity of 1904 74 572 Platinum which has been poisoned with CO is more active after recovery from the poison than platinum which has not been so treated. 1938 (ed. 4) II. 426/2 Nickel is in general very effective, but..is sensitive to ‘poisons’, particularly sulphur compounds and carbon monoxide. 1947 10 Jan. 45/1 Ethylene oxide does not appear to act as a specific respiratory poison. 1978 22 Dec. 1203/1 (note) Although oxalate is a mitochondrial poison, the axons in this experiment were exposed to it for only about 20 minutes. 1984 J. Pennington in C. A. Heaton viii. 286 By catalyst ‘poisons’ we normally mean materials which do not form part of the defined process chemistry, but which gain entry into the reaction mixture and lead to permanent or temporary catalyst deactivation. 1999 96 3473/1 Highly stable, poison-resistant zeolite catalysts. 2003 21 191/2 The toxin is produced by reef algae and spreads up in the food chain. It is harmless to fish, but acts as a sodium channel poison in humans. the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > [noun] > impeding product or impurity 1952 S. Glasstone & M. C. Edlund xi. 315 Some of these [sc. fission products] may have large cross sections for the absorption of neutrons, and so they can act as poisons. 1963 J. F. Hogerton 406/1 It should be noted that some poisons are classified as undesirable whereas others are deliberately introduced into the system... The major fission product poisons are xenon-135 and samarium-149. 1984 N. N. Greenwood & A. Earnshaw (1986) xxxi. 1461 Many of the fission products formed in a nuclear reactor are themselves strong neutron absorbers (i.e. ‘poisons’). 1996 May 936/2 The action to reduce the 60-fold neutron rate increase in 1990 using the neutron poison gadolinium succeeded. Phrases colloquial (originally U.S.). to name (also pick, choose, etc.) one's poison. the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink intoxicating liquor > choose drink 1870 1 Jan. 4 In Chicago when they ask you to drink, they say, ‘Nominate your family disturbance.’ In St. Louis, ‘Choose your own poison.’ 1876 2 June 2/2 Nominate your poison, gents: it's my treat. 1914 J. Joyce 113 Just as they were naming their poisons who should come in but Higgins! 1951 T. Sterling ii. 12 Name your poison, lady. Chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, maple cream. 1995 P. Conroy (1996) xxiii. 391 ‘Choose your poison,’ he said to me. ‘A Bombay Gin martini. Straight up. With a twist,’ I said. 2016 (Nexis) 2 Oct. 36 There are so many variations of velvet shoes on the high street, including sock boots, sandals and mary-janes. So go on, pick your poison. 1901 1 Mar. 8/2 That, Mr. Smith, is an infamous slander, libel and insult. Choose your poison. 1922 14 Dec. 3/2 Pick your poison... Some people go insane from overwork and others try to invent new color combinations for New York taxi-cabs. 1990 L. Alther xxii. 131 Tedium or turmoil, all she could do was to pick her poison. 2014 (Nexis) 29 May a4 There will be pain no matter who wins power. Pick your poison. Compounds C1. a. Attributive (frequently designating parts of poisonous animals and plants which contain or deliver the poison). 1835 V. Audouin in I. 208/2 Scorpions have also a poison-apparatus. 1913 G. A. Boulenger v. 56 The Proteroglyphs (Cobras, Coral-snakes, Sea-snakes) and the Solenoglyphs (Vipers, Pit-vipers, Rattlesnakes) may be regarded as the diverging extremes in the development of the poison apparatus. 1994 (Nexis) 22 Sept. d8 Bees and certain wasps leave the tip of their abdomen and entire poison apparatus in the victim's skin. 1758 T. Flloyd & J. Hill tr. J. Swammerdam vi. 186/1 The poison bag of the sting was contracted. 1784 in (Brit. Mus.) (1938) VI. 43 Huzza! what the Poison Bag could not effect the Halter has. 1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence (1818) II. xvii. 67 Their abdomen is also furnished with a poison-bag.., in which is secreted a powerful and venomous fluid. 1876 ‘G. Eliot’ II. iii. xxiv. 123 Snakes..furnished with poison-bags. 1991 D. Morris (BNC) 66 Some species [of sea urchin] possess poison bags near the tips of the long, brittle spines. 1758 T. Flloyd & J. Hill tr. J. Swammerdam i. 199/2 The [bee's] sting is thrown out together with its sheath, and all the cartilages and muscles belonging to it, together with the poison bladder. 1845 R. Browning 18/2 Suppressed spite, The natural end of every adder Not suffered to empty its poison-bladder. 1999 J. R. King xvii. 245 Human or semihuman,..[their] bellies implanted with poison bladders that splashed foes in acid. 1854 C. Dickens i. xiii. 104 It were the Poison-bottle on table. 1906 16 June 6/5 He caught the master in the act of drinking from a poison bottle. 1991 Aug. 42/1 Prized specimens..include..a cobalt blue poison bottle..and a ceramic shoyu pot, with Japanese calligraphy. 1750 142 Strephon..for Freedom drinks the Poison Bowl. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton i. ii. 14 Imprisoned..with the poison-bowl or the dagger hourly before my eyes. 1985 (Nexis) 26 June (Metro section) 7/1 The smaller objects on display included bowls and figures, brass amulets, effigy vases and poison bowls. 1803 J. Leyden iii. 101 As the poison-breath around him blew, From every bough the shrivell'd leaflet flew. 1863 ‘G. Eliot’ I. xv. 257 The stifling poison-breath of sin. 1995 (Nexis) 23 Apr. 10 The dragon terrorised the countryside with poison breath that killed anyone who approached it. 1849 R. Owen in IV. 888/2 The tooth itself is crescentic, with the horns..so as to circumscribe the poison-canal. 1944 vi. 118 The viper's fangs with a poison canal in the centre. 1818 T. L. Peacock xi. 156 An all-blasting upas, whose root is earth, and whose leaves are the skies which rain their poison-dews upon mankind. 1835 T. N. Talfourd iii. ii The tree, whose branches stifling virtue, Shed poison-dews on joy. 1991 (Nexis) 12 July 7 People believed that poison dew was shed during a solar eclipse. Any clothes that were hanging outside were burned. 1745 R. Mead (ed. 3) 79 Its [sc. a fang's] extremity, to which the orifice of the poison duct is attached. 1849–52 IV. ii. 888/1 The poison-duct..rests in a slight groove..on the convex side of the fang. 1996 (Nexis) 27 May 6 Scorpions have eight legs, one pair of pinchers or claws known as specialized pedipalps and a tail with a poison duct and stinger at the tip. 1796 II. xliv. 85 The snake,..might himself be eaten with all possible safety, the poison fangs being first removed. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. II. 809 When the snake opens its jaws before striking the poison-fangs are erected. 2003 (Nexis) 1 Oct. 64 Though house centipedes have poison fangs, they rarely bite. 1820 J. Keats Isabella in 55 Even bees..Know there is richest juice in poison-flowers. 1862 G. Meredith 34 He sicken'd as at the breath of poison-flowers. 2003 (Nexis) 22 Mar. 4 An utterly entrancing murder mystery that unfolds with all the allure and sweet menace of a poison flower. 1745 R. Mead (ed. 3) 73 Fig. 2 Shews the same head, with its poison-gland, and the several muscles subservient to the motions of the jaws. 1849–52 IV. ii. 888/2 The fang appears..to be perforated by the duct of the poison-gland. 1995 P. J. Hayward & J. S. Ryland xii. 662 Echinoderms... One type has poison glands for dealing with small intruding crustaceans, etc. ?a1808 XII. 547 Both specimens have carinated scales, and are destitute of poison organs. 1872 6 491 A most perfect poison-organ, analogous to the poison-fang of snakes, was..in two fishes..from Central America. 1944 103 236 The Weevers of the genus Trachinus are well known for their stinging habits, and an excellent description of the structure of the poison organ is given. 1852 R. Owen in 30 Oct. 186/1 The bag containing the lethal ammunition, called the ‘poison-sac’. 1909 30 Oct. 10/2 The poison is conducted down the fang by a small open channel by way of which it travels down the poison sac. 1987 M. S. Laverack & J. Dando (ed. 3) xxiii. 120 (caption) The chelicera of a spider, Heteropoda regia.., with poison sac. 1902 H. H. Prichard iii. 44 A low green belt of poison-scrub. 1840 E. Cook viii There are spots where the poison-shrub grows. 1994 (Nexis) 20 June a1 A shepherd with his flock of sheep, their wool covered with oil particles, flees the smoke and poison shrubs. 1819 R. L. Sheil ii. i. 19 Thou sheddest thy poison-slime upon the flower Of a pure woman's honour. 1998 (Nexis) 8 July b3 ‘Frights of the Forest’, the new exhibit that features blood-sucking leaches, vampire bats and purple frogs covered with poison slime. a1676 J. Dunton Dialogical Disc. Adonibezeck 122 in (1685) What sting of Conscience do I feel?..More deadly than the poison stings of Asps. 1835 W. G. Simms I. xv. 192 I can make the yellowjacket and the redbug leave their poison stings in the tender flesh. 1990 (Nexis) 31 Aug. f3 As soon as they got into deep water, the scorpion skewered the frog with the poison sting in his tail. 1838 W. G. Simms Logoochie xiv, in II. 119 She drew the poison thorn from his foot. 1899 A. Werner 151 The boy hurt his hand badly—spiked it on some poison-thorn, I think. 1999 D. Mitchell 251 A poison thorn slid in, bent, and snapped. 1876 24 259 The tooth-germs..are individually modified so as to produce the characteristic canaliculated poison-tooth. 1955 G. Cansdale ii. 30 The method of using the poison teeth also differs from that of cobras and vipers. 1993 (Nexis) 7 Nov. (Features section) Some people might try to pull the poison tooth of envy by becoming a saint and doing extra good works. b. Objective. 1774 H. H. Brackenridge 8 Poison-bearing Pontus, whose deep shades Were shades of death. 1885 Jan. 493 Lilies grow and bloom in the company of poison-bearing weeds. 2003 (Nexis) 4 July 15 From the governor who signs the death warrant down to the technicians who insert the poison-bearing needles. 1599 T. Moffett 67 Of brittle Ash, and poyson-breathing vgh [= yew]. 1792 M. Heron 43 Pale discontent, corroding care, and poison breathing, fell despair. 1832 T. Carlyle in 5 385/1 Cant..opened her poison-breathing lips to proclaim that God-worship and Mammon-worship were one and the same. 1994 (Nexis) 23 Oct. J9 An icy Canadian whirlwind, a poison-breathing Chinese woman, and a whispering Indian skull are among the spirits that appear in this collection of tales. 1652 A. Ross Contents ii. iv. (heading) Poison eaters may infect. 1851 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 16 389 in W. Collins (1999) 425 The poison-eaters have a twofold aim in their dangerous enjoyment: one of which is to obtain a fresh, healthy appearance. 1998 32 28 Their only way of gauging the relative strength of poisons requires seeing how ill poison-eaters become. a1400 (Caius) (1961) 200 (MED) Poysun makers [v.r. poisouneres; c1350 Harl. 874 þe hunters þat poyson oþere & þe foule homicides & hij þat seruen to Maumetrye]. 1677 J. Webster xii. 245 Certain of the Poyson-makers in the time of a Plague, did take the Earth and Dust from the Graves of those that had been buried, and did so prepare it with their Magical Art. 1998 (Nexis) Aug. 33 Animals that do not have ears, such as frogs, or are poison-makers such as copperheads and rattlesnakes, are also forbidden. a1439 J. Lydgate (Bodl. 263) iv. 2488 (MED) Moordreris..poisounmongeris, & enchaunteressis..Alle thes muste han..short liff. 1774 E. Long II. 590 The science of physic, when taken out of the hands of such poison-mongers, is truly noble. 1990 (Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.) 36/1 The poisonmonger keeps sending word that Socrates should shut up. 1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence IV. xli. 127 In the Scorpion..the poison-secretor is clothed externally with a horny thickish membrane. 1552 R. Huloet Poyson seller, uenenarius. 1602 T. Heywood sig. K4v Laie hands on him, are you a poison seller? 1874 L. Penney 32 Ye shall know the poison-seller's doom, And shrink beneath it. 1992 (Nexis) 1 May 17 The investigation into other ranchers and alleged poison sellers is being coordinated before a grand jury in Colorado. 1900 18 July 6/3 The worst savages in the Africa of the Congo are neither poison-shooting pygmies nor cannibal Bangwas, but white officials in the service of a Christian Government. 1998 (Nexis) Sept. 134 Some levels feature poison-shooting cannons that will slow you down, shrink you, take away your ability to jump, or even change your directional keys. 1829 24 Sept. 2/6 Pulling a vial bottle out of his pocket, [Mr Smith] offered it to the poison-swallower. 1900 22 Oct. 7/1 (headline) German poison-swallower. 1806 S. T. Coleridge (1956) II. 1178 My..former detestable habit of poison-taking. 1966 75 496 Make a selection of descriptions of the event, the poison-taking, and the circumstances in which it took place. 1991 A. Rendle (ed. 2) 25 These [speeches] are better than the poison-taking and tomb scenes [in Romeo & Juliet]. c. Instrumental, parasynthetic, etc. 1834 New Ser. 1 124/1 Their arrows, poison-barbed. 1923 21 Jan. 23/2 Dr. Nutter had more than one string to his bow, and more than one poison barbed bolt to shoot from it. 2001 (Nexis) 4 June a8 There are pointy-finned sharks, and poison-barbed rays. 1866 J. Ruskin iii. 185 A poison-dipped sceptre whose touch was mortal. 1959 10 515 The poison-dipped sword that is to kill Hamlet. 1996 (Nexis) 30 Oct. 15 Events in central Africa resemble a jigsaw made from shards of poison-dipped glass. 1869 26 Aug. His breath was not so poison-laden and offensive. 1917 17 Feb. Congested kidneys fall behind in filtering the poison-laden blood. 1993 2 May (Bk. World) 7/4 The poison-laden winds that regularly swept over the region. 1658 J. Eliot 72 Each Bone she hath is like an Asses hoof, So us'd to poyson, it is poison proof. 1878 J. A. Symonds 5 Where..pine and cypress, poison-proof, For death and fever spread their stately roof. 1990 N. Williams iv. 25 She drank no alcohol and thought most forms of seasoning depraved. Her diet was, in a sense, poison proof. 1856 W. E. Aytoun ii. xvii I've heard that poison-sprinkled flowers Are sweeter in perfume. 1735 W. Somervile iv. 226 The poison-tainted Air. 1829 W. F. Hawley 98 Thine eyes are like the poison-tainted flower. 2000 (Nexis) 24 Jan. 2 The enforcement agencies should be in the know and prevent the entry of poison-tainted fruits. 1596 C. Fitzgeffry sig. C Poyson-tooth'd viper, impiously that bites The wombe of those who are her favorites. 1988 3 331 Pubis like a poison-toothed snake. C2. a. 1769 E. Bancroft 257 Their arms are..poison arrows. 1872 R. G. McClellan 606 His stone-axe, poison-arrow, and bloody record proclaim for a brief period his fierce career. 2002 Winter 108/1 Tanzania's Hadza hunters use juice from its bulbous stem to tip their poison arrows, with fatal effect. 1966 18 Feb. 861 Another expedition to Colombia to collect more poison arrow frogs is planned. 1988 (Nexis) 14 Mar. d3 The National Aquarium in Baltimore has set a record for the first U.S. breeding of the threatened blue poison arrow frog after discovering that plastic bottoms of two-liter soda containers are the species' apparent habitat of choice. society > communication > record > written record > register or record book > [noun] > other types of registers 1870 11 377 We desire..to note here the addition, which our readers will do well at once to make in..their copies of the Pharmacy Act, or introductory chapter of their poison books. 1930 D. L. Sayers i. 12 She signed the poison-book in the name of Mary Slater, and the handwriting has been identified as that of the prisoner. 1978 J. Symons iii. 152 His poison book's all in order, and there's this entry in it for arsenic. 1898 ‘R. Boldrewood’ 61 All this time the poison-cart was kept going. 1965 H. P. Tritton iii. 37 The poison-carts were the first serious attempt to control the rabbit invasion in New South Wales. 1999 (Nexis) 14 July b22 A day on his uncle's poison-cart laying phosphorus baits as a young child. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > draught > cup containing or detecting poison 1762 S. Hales p. vi He expresses his Resentment against this forest of Evils, and his tender Grief for the woeful infatuation of Mankind after this Poison-Cup [sc. thirst for spiritous liquors]. 1779 L. MacNally iii. 27 Here, Bacchus, pour it in my poison cup. 1887 XI. 76/2 In..the earliest version of the legend, the queen is made to bleed Rosamond to death in a hot bath at Woodstock... There is no allusion here to the familiar dagger and the poison-cup. 1995 J. Banville 7 Finding a first name was more difficult. I toyed with..Fernando, with its insinuation of stilettos and the poison cup. ?1567 M. Parker lxiv. 177 Which wheth theyr tonges: as sword so sharpe and poyson dartes they shoote. 1646 H. Mill iii. 19 How they will plead for sin, With the reply: which turnes the poyson dart. 1767 A. Strahan tr. Virgil II. ix. 92 Amycus, foe of wild beasts, than whom none better knew With deadly poison darts and arms to tinge. 1841 L. H. Sigourney 46 When the shaft of the Spoiler had pierced thy heart, Did it win the grief from that poison-dart? 1999 32 214 The murder of Bartholomew Sholto..by a poison dart. 1980 102 1454/1 The gephyrotoxins, a new class of skin alkaloids from poison-dart frogs of the genus Dendrobates, have recently been described. 2001 (Nexis) 24 June e1 At [the] top is the most endangered of these jungle frogs, the blue poison dart frog, native only to Suriname. The yellow frog is a dyeing poison dart frog yellow back morph. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > mineral poison > arsenic 1839 A. Ure 56 According to the quality of the poison-flour [previously called ‘arsenic meal’] it yields from 3/ 4 to 7/ 8 of its weight of the glass or enamel. 1985 P. Carey Illywhacker 456 in 35 (2002) They were able to give the legal owners short shrift and, when they objected, to use the musket or poison flour. 1925 4 July 8/5 A still more remarkable addition is a set of scarlet poison frogs from Tropical America. 1991 Jan. 95/1 Here are toucan and quetzal, the superb kapok, tree sacred to the Maya, the oilbirds whose echoing calls fill the dark Trinidad caves, the moss-backed sloth, the clamorously self-advertised golden and crimson poison frogs. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > poisonous gas society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > fire, radiation, or chemical weapons > [noun] > gas 1816 S. T. Coleridge App. C p. xxi My calumniator might have, if not a material, yet some basis for the poison-gas of his invention to combine with? 1915 H. W. Wilson IV. 336/2 After the great chemical experiment with poison gas in April, the Germans had been able to advance to the manor-house. 1995 16 Nov. 7/7 The Bill will make it an offence to develop, produce, process or transfer chemical weapons—poison gases and droplets. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > injure by means of poison [verb (transitive)] > specific society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > use of chemicals, etc. > attack with chemicals, etc. [verb (transitive)] 1936 14 Apr. 1/5 Italian forces in East Africa had poison-gassed 13 Ethiopian cities. 1970 G. Jackson Let. 4 Apr. in (1971) 211 An enemy that would starve his body,..chain his body,..and poison-gas it. 2004 (Electronic ed.) 20 Apr. 1 A dictator who poison-gassed 5,000 Iraqis in Halabja in 1991. the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [adjective] > bright green 1749 C. Lucas 8 Thine Eyes, become so jaundiced with their Choler, as to see..all things of a poison Green. 1863 May 806/2 A wild woodside growth..that hangs its berries like drops of incrusted virus,..pale, poison green, with a metallic lustre. 1975 P. G. Winslow x. 212 He drives a poison-green two-seater. 1998 B. Kingsolver (1999) i. 23 Day one in the Congo, and here my brand-new tulip-tailored linen suit in Poison Green with square mother-of-pearl buttons was fixing to give up the goat. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > lime materials > [noun] > other lime solutions society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > leather > leather-making materials > [noun] > preparation for removing hair 1883 R. Haldane 2nd Ser. 372/1 The unhairing in lime-pits is done..with the so-called ‘poison-lime’. 1916 4 91 Poison Masks for School Children. 1995 (Nexis) 25 July One senior AUM member was seen running away with a poison mask on at the time of the machine accident. the world > the supernatural > the paranormal > [noun] > poison oracle the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > divination by birds, augury > [noun] > by watching effects of poison 1937 E. E. Evans-Pritchard 10 The principal Zande oracles are: (a) benge, poison oracle, which operates through the administration of strychnine to fowls, and formerly to human beings also. 1972 M. D. McLeod in A. Singer & B. V. Street 167 The Zande clearly considered the rubbing-board oracle less accurate than both the termite oracle and the poison oracle. 2002 (Nexis) 1 Jan. 84 Witches in Onitsha could expect to be brought before the Eze Onicha (King of Onitsha) and required to undergo the orachi (sasswood/bitterwood) poison oracle. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > pill, chiefly for suicide society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements > disreputable 1653 No. 78. 610 Mounsieur Prick-lowse is much afraid; That in his absence some wicked Person gave her a poison Pill, which might occasion her swelling. 1835 W. L. Rede v. 17 Perhaps I haven't swallowed the poison pill after all. 1906 B. Stoker xlii. 371 I had always a poison pill fastened here, where the lappet of my coat now is. 1975 29 Aug. 6/8 There are many organizations working against Mrs Gandhi... Ours is serious... We all carry poison pills in our pockets. 1976 1 Sept. 13/4 To sugar coat the poison pill administered to a gullible public. 1983 19 June iii. 14/4 Lenox played hard to get..and implemented a novel anti-takeover devise [sic] to discourage Brown–Forman Distillers takeover bid. The move is called the ‘Poison Pill defense’. 2001 D. Lebaron & R. Vaitlingham in S. Crainer & D. Dearlove (ed. 2) 512 Senior executives may use such bizarre devices as ‘shark repellents’ and ‘poison pills’, which make it extremely costly for shareholders to replace the incumbent board of directors. society > communication > record > written record > register or record book > [noun] > other types of registers 1894 23 Apr. 3/4 Witness prepared for him 10 grains of strychnine, and the defendant signed the poison register. 1907 (1969) 499 In the case of Poisons being required it is absolutely necessary..that the Poisons Register be signed at the time of purchase. 1995 (Nexis) 29 Mar. 7 All I know from checking my poison register today is that none of the drugs administered during that lunchtime period were on the controlled list. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > poisoned ring 1848 W. W. Story 388 Beside it lies The poison-ring the gold-haired Borgia wore. 1911 XXIII. 351/2 Poison rings with a hollow bezel were used in classical times: as, for example..the poison ring of Demosthenes. 2002 (Nexis) 11 Aug. 2 There is nothing witchlike about the bubbly Australian woman who tells me all about her amethyst poison ring. 1915 E. R. Lankester 92 They were paralysed (by microscopic poison-threads like those of the sea-anemones). 2003 (Nexis) 30 Dec. f4/1 The grooved and barbed spears of the jellyfish, trailing poison threads, are released in the thousands. 1839 H. F. Gould II. 156 With tomahawk raised, as in ambush he lay, And poison-tipped arrows to speed from his bow. 1923 May 580/2 We had warned the men against ‘booby-traps’... Only one man fell into one and got a panjie, luckily not poison-tipped, through his leg. 1991 M. Connell (BNC) 149 All we had to do was take a basketful of poison-tipped bamboos into the mountains and stake them diagonally into the ground. the world > matter > chemistry > equipment or apparatus > [noun] > chambers for specific reactions society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for making other articles > [noun] > arsenic-making equipment 1839 A. Ure 55 A vertical section of the poison tower. 1839 A. Ure 823 There are poison towers and extensive condensing chambers attached. 1839 A. Ure 56 Pipes leading to the poison vent. b. In the names of plants. (See also poison-bush n., poison ivy n., poison tree n.). the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > sumacs > [noun] 1757 (Royal Soc.) 49 867 The pinnated one called by the gardeners the poison ash, did not strike so deep a black as the other two trifoliate ones, being more of a rusty colour. 1785 H. Marshall 130 Rhus-Toxicodendron Vernix. Varnish-Tree, or Poison Ash... This tree ought to be handled with caution, as it is very poisonous to many people. 1855 H. Davis 141 Sunday a warm day—I was laid by handling the poison ash. 1949 E. L. Palmer 250/3 Poison sumac is also known as thunderwood, poisonwood, swamp dogwood, poison ash, poison tree, poison elder, and swamp sumac. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > Asian trees or shrubs > [noun] > Chinese or Japanese anise 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore II. 619 In Alabama..I[llicium] floridanum..has..acquired the name of Poison-bay. 1881 P. Henderson 107/2 Illicium. Aniseed Tree... In Alabama the plant has acquired the name of Poison-Bay. 1960 R. Vines 324 Florida Anise... Other vernacular names are Polecat-tree, Poison Bay, [etc.].. The leaves are reported as being poisonous to stock. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Solanaceae (nightshade and allies) > [noun] the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > poisonous berries the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > South American and West Indian trees or shrubs > [noun] > others 1672 J. Josselyn 49 Spurge Lawrel, called here Poyson berry, it kills the English Cattle if they chance to feed upon it, especially Calves. 1696 H. Sloane 169 Syringa laurifolia Jamaicensis..Poyson Berries. 1756 P. Browne ii. ii. 173 Blue Poison Berries... The nightingales are said to feed upon the berries of this shrub, which are reckoned very poisonous. 1811–12 W. J. Titford 47 Rough-leaved Cestrum... Is a native of Jamaica, and there are eight other species, one called Poison-berries. 1890 Poison-berry, any one of the various species of Cestrum; also, the boraginaceous shrub Bourreria succulenta. [West Indies.] 1951 (Royal Hort. Soc.) III. 1619 Poison berry, several species of Cestrum have been so called. 1992 W. T. Parsons & E. G. Cuthbertson 593 Green cestrum, Chilean cestrum... Alternative names: green poison-berry, willow-leaved jessamine (N. America). the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Amaryllidaceae > [noun] > types of 1776 (Royal Soc.) 66 277 We found..a large bulbous root, growing on dry precipices, which the Dutch call vergift-boll, poison bulb. 1822 W. J. Burchell I. xxi. 539 Plants of Amaryllis toxicaria were..very abundant... This plant is well known to the Bushmen, on account of the virulent poison contained in its bulb. It is also known to the Colonists and Hottentots, by the name of Gift-bol (Poison-bulb). 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore I. 181 B[uphane] toxicaria is called the Poison Bulb, and is said to be fatal to cattle. 1966 E. Palmer v. 82 The Poison Bulb, with its innocent blue-green fan of leaves, that they [sc. Bushmen] pounded for its deadly juice. 1988 B. van Wyk & S. Malan 188 Boophane disticha... Poison bulb... Flower stalks lengthen during the fruiting stage, thereby transforming the inflorescence into a large sphere which..breaks off and is blown around by the wind. 1853 11 June 307/4 Fitful presumption in our childish days,..mistaking this harmless Creeper for the true ‘Poison Creeper’, as the Rhus is often called. 1930 R. Macaulay viii. 101 Mind that poison-creeper. 1995 (Nexis) 25 July 29 Poison ivy, a/k/a poison creeper, three-leaved ivy; sometimes called poison oak. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > sumacs > [noun] 1814 J. Bigelow 72 Rhus vernix. Poison dogwood. Swamp Sumach... Grows in bunches in wet swamps. 1870 Nov. 704 The rhus vernix, which is commonly called poison tree, poison wood, poison ash, and in Massachusetts poison dogwood. 1958 G. A. Petrides 84 Names in common use, such as Poison-elder or Poison-dogwood, usually refer to Poison Sumac. 2001 (Nexis) 1 June 24 Poison sumac is closely related to the Asiatic lacquer tree, and it is sometimes known as ‘poison dogwood’. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > sumacs > [noun] 1822 A. Eaton (ed. 3) ii. 428 Rhus..vernix..poison sumach, poison elder... Berries green, at length whitish. 1958 G. A. Petrides 84 Names in common use, such as Poison-elder or Poison-dogwood, usually refer to Poison Sumac. 1998 (Nexis) 21 June 8 e The rest of the force is hospitalized after an encounter with poison elder (poison ivy with an attitude) during a stakeout. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > iris and related flowers > irises 1840 C. Dewey 194 Iris versicolor. Blue or Poison Flag. Common on wet ground. 1976 (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 606/1 Iris versicolor L. Wild i[ris], blue f[lag], poison f[lag]. 1998 23 Apr. b6/5 Blue Flag Iris versicolor L. Liver Lily, Poison Flag, Water Flag... The rhizomes of Blue Flag are poisonous. the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > hemlock 1757 E. Barker tr. L. Heister xv. 371 If a Spasmus cynicus..be owing, as it often is to poison Hemlock, particularly the poisonous Sort Œmanthe; the first Thing to be done is to throw off the Poison by an Emetic. 1817 A. Eaton 33 Conium..maculatum, (poison hemlock) stem spotted, leaves tripinnate. 1955 N. Taylor (rev. ed.) 330 Poison Hemlock Conium maculatum... In waste places, Que. to Fla., west to Cal. Naturalized from Europe. 1999 24 July 45 Butterfly caterpillars infected by the tachinid fly often switch from a diet of lupin leaves to eating poison hemlock. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > plants yielding poison > [noun] > trees or shrubs yielding poison > tanghin shrub or seed society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > trying or hearing of cause > [noun] > trial > trial by ordeal > types of > equipment used in 1794 W. Woodville Suppl. 29 Strychnos Nux Vomica. Vomic nut, or Poison-nut. 1849 J. H. Balfour 947 Strychnos Nux-Vomica, the Poison-nut or Koochla,..supplies the substance called Nux-Vomica. 1857 A. Henfrey §512 The seeds of..the Madagascar Poison-nut are very deadly. 1890 Poison-nut, the fruit of Cerbera Tanghin, and doubtless of C. Odollam. 1991 S. Gibson & R. Gibson (new ed.) 211 Nux vomica..Poison-nut. Principle indications: stomach ailments and flu. the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > poison ivy 1739 J. Clayton & J. F. Gronovius I. 33 Rhus foliis ternatis..folio querciformi. Poison-Oak. 1842 J. S. Buckingham I. 543 Among the shrubs we were shown one that grew like a vine or creeper, called ‘the poison oak’, the leaves of which exude some liquid which is particularly obnoxious to some constitutions, but does not affect others. 1911 J. Muir 34 Poison oak or poison ivy (Rhus diversiloba), both as a bush and a scrambler up trees and rocks, is common throughout the foothill region. 1993 Mar. 53/2 Along with such familiar campsite companions as poison ivy and poison oak, contact allergens also include fabrics, plastics, dyes [etc.]. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > other leguminous plants 1884 W. Miller Swainsona Greyana, Darling River Pea, Horse-poison-plant,..or Poison Pea, of Australia. 2003 43 1378/1 Swainsona has been known to cause poisoning of sheep, cattle and horses for more than 100 years, earning the genus the common name of ‘poison pea’. the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > Australian poison-plant 1730 T. Fuller i. 90 Sir Hans Sloane..giveth an Account of the Mancannillo Tree, that tho' there be scarce such another Poison Plant in the World, and that it kills Cats, Dogs, Land Crabs, and Fish, &c. yet Goats feed upon the Fruit. 1836 6 284 Among them is an account of Strychnos toxifera, the Woorali poison plant, for the first time sent to this country. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore I. 521 A number of the species of this [Gastrolobium] and of allied genera are known in Western Australia as Poison plants; and farmers lose annually a large number of cattle through their eating the foliage. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore I. 522 Dr. Harvey says the worst of the Poison-plants is G[astrolobium] bilobum. 1881 F. Oates xi. 243 The ‘poison plant’, growing low, and bearing a yellow plum-like fruit, was gathered on one occasion near the waggon-track. 1927 J. Masefield iii. 121 Dangling from the boughs, there were strings of withered poison-ivy... He dodged the poison-plant. 2003 (Nexis) 12 Aug. 25 One inmate outs an abusive priest by putting poison plants in his washing, which results in him disrobing in the middle of mass. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > horse-chestnut tree and allies > [noun] 1712 J. Petiver in (Royal Soc.) 27 424 Carolina Poyson Root... Castaneæ Equinæ facie. Arbor..flore galeato spicato. 1787 J. D. Schöpf 55 Aesculus Pavia... Scarlet-horse-Chestnut... Poyson-root. Dears-Eye. Bucks-Eye. 1910 23 17 They put poison-roots in the fire. 1957 C. S. Belshaw 279 Went ashore to obtain..some stones to beat the poison roots and sticks... Poison sticks are beaten and then pushed into holes in the rocks to force the stupefied fish out. 1989 D. Levertov ii. 23 Many escaped at night to eat poison roots or to hang themselves in the forest. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > sumacs > [noun] 1785 H. Marshall (Index Eng. Names) 174 Poison Sumach. 1792 W. Currie 118 People who reside in the country, are often injured by handling a small tree, growing in moist swampy grounds, called by Linnæus Rhus Vernix, or poison Sumac. 1832 W. D. Williamson I. 118 The poison Sumach occurs in the western, but very seldom, if ever, in the eastern part of the State. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore II. 979 Poison Sumach or Poison Elder, is a tall shrub with pinnate leaves. 1992 Jan. 8/2 Poison sumac has white loosely spread clusters. the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > poison ivy 1709 J. Lawson 101 The Poison Vine is so called, because it colours the Hands of those who handle it. 1803 A. Ellicott viii. 212 My journey up the river was disagreeable and painful, being blistered by the rhus radicans (poison vine) from head to feet. 1891 M. E. Ryan ii. i. 24 Here and there a poison-vine flashed back defiance under its crimson banners. 1935 Sept. 174 I hear them [sc. horses] snortin' up the land where the pizen-vines grow around the sycamore stumps. 2000 (Nexis) 30 Apr. 1 They look so real you could get a rash if you touched the poison vine growing on an oak tree. the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > poison ivy 1624 J. Smith 170 The poysoned weed [in the Bermudas] is much in shape like our English Iuy. margin, The poison weed. 1708 J. Oldmixon II. 374 They also have the Poison Weed, which is like English Ivy, and the Touch of it causes a Pain and Tumour for the present, but it goes off again. 1856 L. J. F. Jaeger Jrnl. 20 Sept. in (1928) XIV. 128 2 of the mules died at the Tinajas Altas—I think they ate some of the poison weed also. 1898 19 Mar. 3/2 The poison-weed's a-growing, and the ‘norther’ is a-blowing. 1922 27 Jan. 92/2 This minister of the gospel was boldly entering upon paths lined with harvest fields of truth which to his contemporaries were fields of poison weeds. 2000 (Nexis) 29 June 1D Pull up the poison weed, then starting at the top, turn the wrapper inside out. The ivy is inside and you toss it without ever touching it. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > bryony 1693 (Royal Soc.) 17 619 The Poyson-Wyth of Barbados, which is a kind of Bryony. 1750 G. Hughes viii. 244 The Poison-Wyth. This grows to a great Length, and is, tho' woody, yet of a very spongy Nature. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). poisonadj.adv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: poison n. colloquial in later use. A. adj.the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [adjective] > rendered poisonous c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner (1876) 161 That yere [sc. 1426–7] was smytte owte many buttys of Romnaye of Lumbardys makyng in dyvers placys of the Cytte, for they were corrupte and also..very pyson. 1530 W. Tyndale (Parker Soc.) I. 17 With what poison, deadly, and venomous hate hateth a man his enemy. 1530 W. Tyndale (Parker Soc.) I. 18 To make him of so poison a nature. 1533 T. More i. xvi. f. lxxiii A crosse.., the byholdyng wherof deuowred and destroyed the venym of all the poysen serpent. 1562 W. Turner ii. 65 The floures and the leues of oleander ar poyson. a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. J. W. von Goethe Scenes from Faust in (1824) 402 They dart forth polypus-antennæ, To blister with their poison spume The wanderer. 1897 M. Kingsley 464 If he claims the ordeal,..he usually has to take a poison drink. 1935 Z. N. Hurston i. x. 206 Dat snake dat wuz so poison tell he bit de railroad track and killed de train. 1940 M. de la Roche i. xvi. 300 She picked up her hat, which was half full of mushrooms, and displayed them... ‘Aren't you afraid you will pick poison ones?’ 2000 (Nexis) 19 Oct. 65 His Indian apothecary,..whose secret weapon is a poison snake. society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > [adjective] ?1527 L. Andrewe tr. sig. giiii The mouse hounter or catte is an onclene beste & a poyson ennemy to all myse. 1815 M. Clarke i. ii. 4 You shan't go there again among them poison books; they make you good for nothing. 1850 ‘M. Tensas’ 152 Lizey Johnson's middle darter, Prinsanna,..left her husband in the state of Georgy, and kum to Luzaanny an' got marred to a nother man, the pisen varmint, to do sich as that and her own laful husband. 1866 T. Edmondston 86 ‘A poushin crater’, a sneaking, contemptible fellow; applicable also to character. 1880 ‘M. Twain’ xxiii. 225 B'long to a church! Why boss he's ben the pizenest kind of a Free-will Babtis' for forty year. They ain't no pizener ones 'n' what he is. 1916 14 Jan. ‘A pushion, fusom, moniment’ expressed the lowest stratum of worthlessness. 1988 M. S. Bell Customs of Country in M. Atwood (1989) 26 I drove in such a poison mood I barely knew I was driving a car or that there were any others on the road. B. adv. Chiefly U.S. regional. the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly 1840 C. F. Hoffman I. 61 The night was pison cold, I tell ye. 1884 ‘M. Twain’ xxvii. 233 The funeral sermon was very good, but pison long and tiresome. 1892 R. L. Stevenson Let. 31 Jan. in (1923) XXXIII. 23 This is a poison bad world for the romancer, this Anglo Saxon world. 1932 V. Randolph 152 They got well finally, but from then on Charley was pizen mean. 1968 Fall–Winter 111 ‘Who's been messing around my still?’ he cries, poison mad. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). poisonv.Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: French poisonner ; poison n. Etymology: Either < Anglo-Norman poisonner to poison (c1334 or earlier; compare Anglo-Norman empoisoner and Middle French, French empoisonner to poison (c1130 in Old French); compare also Old French (Flanders) puissonner (rare) to give to drink (late 13th cent.), Old French (Picardy) puisner (rare) to poison (c1280); < post-classical Latin potionare to give to drink: see potion v.), or directly < poison n. Compare Old Occitan poizonar to bewitch (a1170), to poison (14th cent.), Spanish †pozoñar to poison (late 13th cent.; only in past participle).In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix). 1. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > injure by means of poison [verb (transitive)] the world > life > death > killing > killing by specific method > kill [verb (transitive)] > by poisoning c1350 (Harl. 874) (1961) 200 (MED) Þe houndes shullen ben wiþouten, & þe hunters þat poyson [v.r. poisenen] oþere. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 303 (MED) He was i-poysened [v.r. poysent] wiþ venym þat was i-doo in his chalys. ?a1425 (Egerton) (1889) 19 (MED) Elphy was puysound thurgh anoþer þat coueited to be sowdan. a1450–1509 (?a1300) (A-version) (1913) 2752 (MED) He leet taken alle þe cors..And caste into þe watyr off oure welle, Vs to poysoun [v.r. poynsone] and to quelle. 1526 W. Bonde iii. sig. OOOvv Lyke as the worme that is crusshed or poysoned. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. cclxv, (margin) The Pope hireth men to poyson other. 1615 G. Sandys 148 A Iew..did poison his sonne, whom he knew to be vnrestrainably lasciuious. 1676 G. Etherege iii. iii. 52 Sir Fop. I sat near one of 'em..and was almost Poison'd with a pair of Cordivant Gloves he wears. Loveit. Oh!.. How I hate the smell! 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil 120 The water-Snake..lyes poyson'd in his Bed. View more context for this quotation 1710 24–26 May I..was Poyson'd with Night-Carts. 1783 W. Thomson in R. Watson & W. Thomson vi. 422 He was charged with having poisoned the queen. 1805 R. Anderson 24 Peer Jemmy was puzzen'd, they say, by a black. 1879 J. A. Froude 119 Boys of ten years had learnt the art of poisoning their fathers. c1880 J. J. McCloskey i. i. 5 Well water? My dear lady, I haven't tasted the fluid for fifteen years. Do you want to poison me? 1998 S. Fried i. iii. 77 They were cleared of hepatitis B, but poisoned by the drug that cured them. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders caused by poisons > poison [verb (transitive)] 1582 R. Mulcaster Peroration 247 The corrupt blood passing from the liuer poisoneth the hole carcasse. 1607 E. Topsell 615 If the worme bee cut asunder in the wound, there issueth out of her such a venemous pustulate matter, that poysoneth the wound. 1608 W. Shakespeare xiii. 61 Tooth that poysons if it bite. View more context for this quotation 1737 J. Armstrong 239 At last the whole Mass of Blood is poisoned, and livid red Pustules break out. 1778 J. Mudge 171 In short, the blood becomes poisoned, and of course all the juices of the body which are secreted from it. 1781 E. Gibbon II. xviii. 90 Dipping them [sc. the points of their weapons] in a venomous liquor, that poisoned the wounds which they inflicted. 1885 IV. 96/2 His blood became poisoned from the virus of a dead body entering a slight wound in his hand. 1899 J. Hutchinson in 1 157 Mrs. M—— had been pushing back the nail-fold at the root of the nail with a penknife and had as she suspected poisoned it. a1911 D. G. Phillips (1917) I. xvi. 288 He reached out one of his hands—puffy as if it had been poisoned. 1990 I. Breakwell & P. Hammond (BNC) 76 Tich supplemented his dole money in the pea picking season, but the soil got into the cuts on his hands and poisoned his blood. 2. the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [verb (transitive)] society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > corrupt > poison morally (Titus) (1851) 99 (MED) It is feynid now that symple prestis wolen poisone men with gostli venym, that is, errour othir eresie. ?a1425 (Claud.) 4 Kings ix. 22 Gloss. Jezabel, thi moder, brouȝte yn..poisonyngis, for sche poysonyde goostli. c1475 (a1400) J. Wyclif (1880) 333 Þe pope & þe emperour myȝte priuely be poysened bi suche fadres. 1550 J. Coke sig. Eijv Monster de labright..whose ancetours you poysoned with money causyng them to be traytours to Englande. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) i. iii. 112 Did you by indirect and forced courses, Subdue and poison this young maides affections? View more context for this quotation 1650 T. Fuller ii. iii. 94 We cannot but condole, that the same persons were afterwards poisoned with hereticall opinions. 1701 N. Rowe ii. ii. 787 Hast thou not With thy false Arts poyson'd his Peoples Loyalty? 1776 T. Paine ii. 25 Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent;..their minds are easily poisoned by importance. 1868 E. A. Freeman II. vii. 137 There was another voice at the royal ear, ever ready to poison the royal mind. 1927 22 Nov. 7 Thuggism meant an end to human life; Mafiaism poisoned every department of it. 1993 T. Hawkins viii. 156 I know you'll think my new friends have put ideas into my head, poisoned me against you. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to c1450 J. Capgrave (Arun. 396) (1893) v. 1969 (MED) I dar not wryte heere her declaracyon, lest that I poyson [v.r. poysene] alle myn forsayd weerk. 1582 S. Gosson i. sig. B6 Many wanton Italian bookes, which being translated into english, haue poysoned the olde maners of our Country with foreine delights. 1608 W. Shakespeare vii. 218 Meeting here the other messenger, Whose welcome I perceau'd had poyson'd mine. View more context for this quotation 1687 R. Boyle ix The deadly draught..poysoned not his [sc. Socrates'] reputation,..but that of his accusers and his judges. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vii, in tr. Virgil 32 Lest his ill Arts or his malicious Tongue Shou'd poyson, or bewitch my growing Song. 1765 S. Foote i. 15 The slightest enquiry wou'd poison your project. 1793 C. Smith III. iv. 81 The bitter certainty that a long, long separation must so soon follow poisoned the pleasure of their meeting. 1816 S. T. Coleridge ii. 32 Alas! they had been friends in youth; But whispering tongues can poison truth. a1855 C. Brontë (1857) I. viii. 132 This idea of injustice somewhat poisoned the pleasure I might otherwise have derived from Pelet's soft, affable manner to myself. 1894 H. Caine iii. x Tom could not deny himself a word of bitterness to poison the pleasure. 1988 Nov. 65/1 The game was poisoned by a stamping incident involving American winger Barry Williams and Soviet captain Igor Mironov. 1992 S. Sontag i. iv. 50 Only a fool would want to learn the date of his death and poison the time still left to him. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > injure by means of poison [verb (transitive)] > render poisonous the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > environmental pollution > pollute the environment [verb (transitive)] a1470 [implied in: T. Malory (Winch. Coll.) 1049 Hit myssehapped hym to take a poysonde apple. (at poisoned adj. 3a)]. c1475 tr. (Tripolitanus abbrev.) (1977) 376 (MED) And laboure to withdrawe thair watyr, or elles poysone it. c1480 (a1400) St. George 62 in W. M. Metcalfe (1896) II. 178 Thru..corrupcion of þe ayre þat he wald poyson. 1548 T. Cooper (rev. ed.) Inficere pocula veneno, to poison the drynk, to put poyson in the cuppe. 1553 T. Wilson ii. f. 68v As if one shoulde Poyson a conduite head, or a Riuer from whence all men featche their water. 1612 J. Webster sig. I 'T'haue poison'd his praier booke, or a paire of beades, The pummell of his saddle,..Or th'handle of his racket. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil 118 A Plague..Poys'ning the Standing Lakes; and Pools Impure. View more context for this quotation 1731 E. Thomas 113 Or some old spiteful Hag with noxious Blast, And Hands infectious poison'd the Repast. 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc I. 607 Miscreants went about, poisoning food, wine, and the water of the fountains. 1851 M. Reid II. v. 78 Indians..engaged in poisoning the points of their arrows. 1911 11 Jan. 56/2 An arrow poisoned with the usual strophanthus &c. will kill the person wounded. 1991 A. Nikiforuk iv. 47 Hysterical plague victims accused Jews of poisoning well water. 4. the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > cause bad condition in [verb (transitive)] the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > pollute or defile [verb (transitive)] a1513 W. Dunbar (1998) I. 199 That fulle dismeberit hes my meter And poysonid it with strang salpeter. 1633 in J. Imrie & J. G. Dunbar (1982) II. 387 For rining and wining of the tuicholle of the irone peice that hes beine poysoned this many yeires bygaine. 1698 (1771) 31 Confessing that he had accordingly poisoned two cannon and the Harquebuz that was broken. 1706 (new ed.) To Poison a Piece, a Term in Gunnery. See To Cloy and to Nail. 1765 3 284 Some..were exactly level, so as to be quite poisoned with the wet, which could not drain off. 1768 W. Blackstone III. xiii. 218 It is a nusance..to corrupt or poison a water-course by erecting a dyehouse or a lime-pit for the use of trade, in the upper part of the stream. 1816 tr. F. Vanderstraeten 6 The land will be poisoned with noxious roots and plants. 1833 J. S. Sands 95 Ye've pushioned a' the kail wi' sute. 1884 C. G. W. Lock 3rd Ser. 66/2 They pronounced it to be full of arsenic and antimony; so..that their furnaces were, as they said, ‘poisoned’, and rendered unfit for refining. 1906 T. P. Ollason 107 Hit's a mercy, an' a fairly ta preeve a crumb o' tae bread noo-a-days, 'ats no pushined wi' suggar. 1994 Aug. 17/2 Sugar production is the main reason why the Everglades are being poisoned, with the loss of thousands of acres of wetlands each year. the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > undergo chemical reactions or processes [verb] > undergo a process affecting reaction > reduce or destroy activity of a catalyst 1904 74 572 Platinum which has been poisoned with CO is more active after recovery from the poison than platinum which has not been so treated. 1913 in C. Ellis (1914) 311 The use of chlorine would ‘poison’ the catalyst. 1933 S. W. Cole (ed. 9) xi. 265 It [sc. the enzyme indophenol oxidase] is also poisoned in the dark by CO, but is reactivated in the light. 1965 H. H. Willard et al. (ed. 4) xxii. 588 The quinhydrone electrode is quickly prepared, develops its potential rapidly, and is not readily poisoned. 1972 27 Sept. 20/3 Lead contaminants in fuel tend to ‘poison’ catalytic elements that help burn exhaust more completely in a converter mounted in the exhaust pipe. 1984 (Royal Soc.) A. 311 169 Arsenic..poisoned the reaction, presumably through stable surface compound formation with KBr. the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > of final: undergo fission [verb (intransitive)] > act as poison the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > enrich (reactor or fuel) [verb (transitive)] > add impurity to 1945 H. D. Smyth viii. 80 Other fission products are being produced also. These consist typically of unstable and relatively unfamiliar nuclei so that it was originally impossible to predict how great an undesirable effect they would have on the multiplication constant. Such deleterious effects are called poisoning.] 1948 C. Pincher 38 Fragments from the split uranium 235 atoms collect in the slugs and..are said to ‘poison’ the uranium. 1960 M. R. Wehr & J. A. Richards xi. 328 This radioactivity is due principally to the fission products which poisoned the fuel element. 1968 F. Kertesz (Oak Ridge Nat. Lab. TM 2367) 23 Nuclear jargon is filled with gloomy, funereal terms: fuel elements are transported in coffins and reactors are poisoned to control them. 1988 20 Oct. 662/1 When operators attempted to restart the reactor they failed to take into account the decay of tritium to helium-3, a neutron absorber that can ‘poison’ the reactor. the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > salt manufacture > [verb (transitive)] > perform other salt-manufacturing tasks 1885 R. Holland (1886) Poisoning,..said of a pan when some ingredient is put into it to make the brine work differently. 1894 S. Baring-Gould II. 16 A little glue or soft soap is put into the brine—this is called ‘poisoning’ it—to collect the impurities. Phrases1864 J. H. Newman 21 What shall I say of the upshot of all this talk of my economies and equivocations and the like?.. He has attempted (as I may call it) to poison the wells. 1980 14 July a18/ Deploy your appointed agents..to poison the well concerning any of the other semi-finalists. 2006 F. Ramsay xviii. 103 When the police made the allegation, they poisoned the well, and left me with nothing to say to anyone. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  n.c1225 adj.adv.c1475v.c1350 |
