digitalis
/dɪd͡ʒɪˈtælɪs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.27 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any plant of the genus Digitalis (herbaceous plants of the Plantaginaceae family, including the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A medical extract of Digitalis purpurea prescribed for heart failure etc.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "11. Delphiniums and digitalises."
- "At the Medico-Botanical Society on Tuesday, Dr. Morries, made some some observations on opium, digitales, conium, and hyoscyamus, and exhibited specimens of oils obtained from the latter plants."
- "Polemoniums of various species, aubretias, dwarf phloxes, delphiniums, digitalises, gerums, erigerons and a number of other things have bloomed a second time […]"
- "‘You very nearly died. I had to give you digitalis three times.’"
- "The ancient remedy digitalis, extracted from the foxglove plant, for example, acts by blocking sodium channels in heart muscle, preventing potentially dangerous overactivity."
Etymology
Modern Latin, from Latin digitālis (“of the fingers”) (named in reference to the German common name for the plant, Fingerhut (“thimble”)). Doublet of digital.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: digitālis
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /dɪd͡ʒɪˈtælɪs/
- British English: /dɪdʒɪˈtɑːlɪs/