hellebore Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun perennial herbs of the lily family having thick toxic rhizomes
    false hellebore.
  2. noun any plant of the Eurasian genus Helleborus

WordNet

Hel"le*bore noun
Etymology
L. helleborus, elleborus, Gr. , cf. F. hellébore, ellébore.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs (Helleborus) of the Crowfoot family, mostly having powerfully cathartic and even poisonous qualities. H. niger is the European black hellebore, or Christmas rose, blossoming in winter or earliest spring. H. officinalis was the officinal hellebore of the ancients.
  2. (Bot.) Any plant of several species of the poisonous liliaceous genus Veratrum, especially V. album and V. viride, both called white hellebore.

Webster 1913