Ruminations.
Where does the word "poison" come from?
"Poison" as a noun meaning "a deadly substance or potion; an evil intention" comes from the Latinpotare, "to drink," the English appearing around 1200, though its original meaning (obsolete by 1817) was "a drink, often prepared for a special purpose" with the 'deadly' connotation first arising around 1300. In 1805 it gains the meaning "alcoholic drink," and the meaning "a detested person" arises either in 1875 or in 1910, depending on which source you access. The phrase "poison ivy" first appears in 1784; in this instance the word is being used as an adjective, which starts happening in the 1520s. The verb form, meaning "to poison" appears around 1300, and derives from the noun. The OED lists 19 different meanings for the word - 9 verbs, 7 nouns, 2 adjectives, and 1 adverb. The adjectival form acquired the meaning "extremely or intensely" in 1840. The earliest written use of the verb is around 1350, in the manuscript known as Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harley Manuscript 874); of the adjective, in 1475, in the work Gregory's Chronicle. Links.
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