belladonna English · revision 1119

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌbɛləˈdɒnə/ ''(UK)''; /ˌbɛləˈdɑnə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|belladonna|t=beautiful lady]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''bella'' “beautiful” and ''donna'' “lady”.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) A common explanation is that women used the juice to dilate their pupils or as a cosmetic,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) but Etymonline thinks the name more likely a folk etymology of a medieval Latin plant name such as ''belulidus''.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[belle]] and [[donna]].^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The deadly nightshade (''Atropa belladonna'') (1597), introduced into English in Gerard's herbal.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name had been recorded by the Italian botanist Andrea Matthioli as ''herba bella donna'',^(Etymonline) and it largely displaced the native English names ''dwale'' and ''morel''.^(Etymonline) From 1788 it also named the drug prepared from the plant's leaves and root.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1597 – the plant, in Gerard's herbal.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1734 – ''belladonna lily''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1788 – the drug from the plant.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A poisonous Eurasian plant (''Atropa belladonna'') of the [[nightshade]] family, with purplish bell-shaped flowers and glossy black berries; deadly nightshade.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A medicinal extract from this plant, containing [[atropine]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nightshade]]

+ * [[atropine]]

+ * [[belle]]

+ * [[donna]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}