ac|o|nite

ac|o|nite «AK uh nyt», noun.

1. a plant with irregular, blue, purple, yellow, or yellow-and-white flowers shaped like hoods. Only a few grow wild in North America, such as monkshood and wolfsbane. Aconite belongs to the crowfoot family and has poisonous roots, leaves, and seeds.

2. a very poisonous drug prepared from the roots of monkshood, and used to relieve inflammation and pain. It contains aconitine, and was formerlyused to reduce fever and slow the action of the heart but now is used occasionally in liniments.

╂[< Latin aconītum < Greek akónīton]