First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
hellebore
noun hel·le·bore \ˈhe-lə-ˌbȯr\
Definition of HELLEBORE
1
: any of a genus (Helleborus) of poisonous Eurasian herbs of the buttercup family having showy flowers with petaloid sepals; also : the dried rhizome of a hellebore (as H. niger) formerly used in medicine
2
: a poisonous herb (genus Veratrum) of the lily family; also : the dried rhizome of a hellebore (V. album or V. viride) that is used as an insecticide and contains toxic alkaloids that are cardiac and respiratory depressants
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Origin of HELLEBORE
Middle English elebre, from Anglo-French, from Latin elleborus, helleborus, from Greek helleboros
Rhymes with HELLEBORE
albacore, allosaur, alongshore, anaphor, anymore, archosaur, at death's door, at one's door, Bangalore, bargain for, Barrymore, canker sore, carnivore, carnosaur, close the door, Coimbatore, come in for, commodore, comprador, consignor, corridor, cuspidor, devisor, dinosaur, door-to-door, double door, Ecuador, either-or, Eleanor, elector, endospore, evermore, except for, forest floor, franchisor, from the floor, furthermore, general store, go in for, guarantor, Gwalior, hackamore, hadrosaur, herbivore, heretofore, humidor, in line for, Koko Nor, komondor, Labrador, licensor, Lipitor, louis d'or, madrepore, Mangalore, man-of-war, manticore, matador, meteor, micropore, Minotaur, mirador, more and more, nevermore, not long for, omnivore, open-door, out-of-door, package store, parador, petit four, picador, pinafore, piscivore, pompadour, Pompadour, predator, promisor, pterosaur, saddle sore, sagamore, Salvador, semaphore, servitor, standard score, stand up for, stegosaur, stevedore, stick up for, superstore, sycamore, take the floor, theretofore, to die for, troubadour, tug-of-war, two-by-four, uncalled-for, underscore, unlooked-for, vavasor, warrantor
Medical Dictionary
hellebore
noun hel·le·bore \ˈhel-ə-ˌbō(ə)r, -ˌbȯ(ə)r\
Medical Definition of HELLEBORE
1
a : any herb of the genus Helleborus b : the dried roots and rhizome of any medicinal herb of the genus Helleborus (as black hellebore H. niger or green hellebore H. viridis) or a powder or extract of this used by the ancient Greeks and Romans in treating mental and other disorders
2
a : any of several poisonous herbs of the genus Veratrum b : the dried rhizome and roots of either of two hellebores of the genus Veratrum (the false hellebore V. viride of America and V. album of Europe) or a powder or extract of this containing alkaloids (as protoveratrine) used as a cardiac and respiratory depressant and also as an insecticide—called also veratrum, white hellebore
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