from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Hemlock \Hem"lock\, n. [OE. hemeluc, humloc, AS. hemlic,
hymlic.]
1. (Bot.) The name of several poisonous umbelliferous herbs
having finely cut leaves and small white flowers, as the
{Cicuta maculata}, {Cicuta bulbifera}, and {Cicuta
virosa}, and the {Conium maculatum}. See {Conium}.
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Note: The potion of hemlock administered to Socrates is by
some thought to have been a decoction of {Cicuta
virosa}, or water hemlock, by others, of {Conium
maculatum}.
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2. (Bot.) An evergreen tree common in North America ({Abies
Canadensis} or {Tsuga Canadensis}); hemlock spruce.
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The murmuring pines and the hemlocks. --Longfellow.
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3. The wood or timber of the hemlock tree.
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{Ground hemlock}, or {Dwarf hemlock}. See under {Ground}.
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