strychnine

English

Structure diagram of strychnine

Etymology

From French strychnine, from Greek στρύχνος (strýchnos, “sleepy nightshade”) (or directly from Ancient Greek στρύχνον (strúkhnon)) +‎ -ine.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈstɹɪk.niːn/, /ˈstrɪknɪn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈstrɪkˌnaɪn/, /ˈstrɪkˌnin/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

strychnine (usually uncountable, plural strychnines)

1. (organic chemistry) A very toxic, colorless crystalline alkaloid, derived from nux vomica, used as a pesticide.
   • 1908, L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables:

     Only don’t say I didn’t warn you if he burns Green Gables down or puts strychnine in the well—I heard of a case over in New Brunswick where an orphan asylum child did that and ​the whole family died in fearful agonies.

   • 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles:

     […] strychnine is a fairly rapid drug in its action. The symptoms appear from one to two hours after it has been swallowed.

Derived terms

• hydrochloride of strychnine
• strychnic
• strychnine hydrochloride
• strychnine tree
• strychninism

Translations

very toxic, colourless, crystalline alkaloid

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 士的寧 / 士的宁

• Czech: strychnin m
• Dutch: strychnine (nl) f or n
• Esperanto: striknino
• Finnish: strykniini (fi)
• French: strychnine (fr) f
• Galician: estricnina f, esternina f (vulgar)
• German: Strychnin (de) n
• Hungarian: sztrichnin (hu)
• Ido: striknino (io)
• Italian: stricnina (it) f
• Japanese: ストリキニン (sutorikinin), ストリキニーネ (ja) (sutorikiniine)
• Korean: 스트리크닌 (seuteurikeunin)
• Navajo: mąʼiitsoh bee yigą́
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stryknin m

  Nynorsk: stryknin m

• Polish: strychnina (pl) f
• Portuguese: estricnina f
• Russian: стрихни́н (ru) m (strixnín)
• Spanish: estricnina (es)
• Swedish: stryknin (sv)
• Turkish: striknin (tr)

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French strychnine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌstrɪxˈni.nə/, /ˌstrixˈni.nə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: strych‧ni‧ne
• Rhymes: -inə

Noun

strychnine f or n (uncountable, no diminutive)

1. strychnine

Derived terms

• strychninevergiftiging

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stʁik.nin/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

strychnine f (plural strychnines)

1. strychnine

Descendants

• → Dutch: strychnine
• → English: strychnine
• → Turkish: striknin

Further reading

• “strychnine”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012