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Glite Dictionary
bushman's poison

bushman's poison

9.9
An evergreen shrub or small tree from South Africa with poisonous sap used on hunting arrows
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : veneno del hombre de la bush
  • The sap of the bushman's poison is extremely toxic and was used on hunting arrows.

Examples

  • Many indigenous tribes rely on bushman's poison for hunting.

  • Gardeners should handle bushman's poison cautiously due to its poisonous properties.

  • Many visitors to South Africa are fascinated by the legend of the bushman's poison.

  • The bushman's poison is often used by local hunters.

  • The sap of the bushman's poison is used to coat arrows, making them lethal to prey.

  • Indigenous hunters traditionally used bushman's poison to ensure their arrows would be effective.

  • Care must be taken when handling bushman's poison, as its toxic sap can be dangerous.

Synonyms

Acocanthera venenata
vsbushman's poison
  • Specialized
9.9

An evergreen shrub or small tree from South Africa with poisonous sap

serves as a traditional source of arrow poison rather than just being poisonous
Acokanthera
vsbushman's poison
  • Specialized
9.9

Small African and Arabian trees and shrubs with very poisonous parts sometimes used to poison arrows

refers to a single South African shrub used traditionally to make arrow poison
Acocanthera
vsbushman's poison
  • Specialized
9.9

Small trees and shrubs from Africa and Arabia that contain very poisonous substances

refers to a particular South African shrub used to make arrow poison
poison arrow plant
vsbushman's poison
  • South African
9.9

A medium-sized evergreen shrub or tree from South Africa with thick leaves and purplish black berries

is valued for toxic sap used traditionally to poison arrows rather than appearance

Surface Forms

bushman's poison singular
bushman's poisons plural

Morphology

bushman's + poison

If a learner knows 'bushman' (a member of indigenous hunters) and 'poison', they can infer this refers to a poisonous substance associated with bushmen—so the general concept is predictable from the parts. However, the specific sense (that it names an evergreen shrub/tree with toxic sap used to poison arrows) is a botanical, culture-specific referent that is not fully derivable from the constituents, making the relation only partially transparent.

Etymology

Bushman's poison is the name for a South African shrub whose sticky sap was put by bushmen on hunting arrows. Because the sap could kill, the name came to mean the plant used 'to poison arrows'.