hemlocks

Noun

hemlock (countable and uncountable, plural hemlocks)

1. Conium, either Conium maculatum or Conium chaerophylloides.
   • Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper.1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273
2. Cicuta (water hemlock).

   Synonyms:

   beaver poison, cowbane, musquash root, poison parsnip, spotted cowbane, water hemlock

3. Poison obtained from these Conium and Cicuta plants.
4. Any of several coniferous trees, of the genus Tsuga, that grow in North America; the wood of such trees.
   • The wind blows and the hemlocks wave their feathery leading shoots. Such a graceful profile, so elegant a tree.2018, Richard Powers, The Overstory, Vintage (2019), page 380

See all 15 meanings of hemlock