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Glite Dictionary
hebenon

hebenon

1 9.9
A poison in old stories whose exact nature is unknown
  • noun
  • Archaic
: hebenón
  • In Shakespeare's play, the character spoke of a potion made with hebenon, which was meant to cause death.
  • cursed hebenon
  • juice of hebenon
  • hebenon in a vial

Examples

  • The murder mystery was inspired by Shakespeare's description of hebenon as a deadly poison.

  • Sleeping within my orchard, my custom always of the afternoon, upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebenon in a vial.

    Hamlet (2000)

  • The author used hebenon to symbolize treachery and deceit in their literary work.

Synonyms

poison
vshebenon
73 3.5

Something that slowly harms people or a group, for example hate

is a literary reference to a specific toxic material with uncertain real identity
poisonous substance
vshebenon
1 4.4

Something that can cause serious harm or death when swallowed, touched and breathed

is a literary mention of a toxic material with uncertain real identity
toxicant
vshebenon
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A poisonous substance that can harm people and animals

is mentioned in literature with unclear identity rather than defined scientifically

Surface Forms

hebenon singular
hebenons plural

Etymology

Hebenon names a poisonous substance in old literature, but its real identity is uncertain. One popular idea says hebenon is linked to the plant henbane, and you can remember it because the word bane means 'poison'. So, hebenon is used in stories to mean a deadly or mysterious 'poison'.