belladonna
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belladonna¹
- /ˌbɛləˈdɑnə/ US
- /ˌbɛləˈdɒnə/ UK
Rhymes with -ɒnə
Where it comes from
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.
noun belladonnas
-
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.
Similar: deadly nightshade
- 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.
Belladonna²
Where it comes from
See belladonna.
proper noun
- 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.
Talk about this word "belladonna." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/belladonna. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. belladonna. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/belladonna "belladonna." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/belladonna.Cite this
@misc{belladonna_2026,
title = {belladonna},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/belladonna},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
