Standard Lemma guide

hellebore

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈhɛlɪbɔː/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈhɛlɪbɔːɹ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of the common garden flowering plants of the genus Helleborus, in family Ranunculaceae, having supposed medicinal properties.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 1998, Plinio Prioreschi, A History of Medicine, Volume III: Roman Medicine, page 122, Then the physician would use the king of remedies, the powerful one, hellebore: [...] We suspect that after a sufficient number of administrations of hellebore the patient, if he had not done so before, would declare himself cured.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A toxic extract of certain false hellebores (Veratrum album or Veratrum viride), formerly used as a pesticide.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 1915 July 14, Leland Ossian Howard, Robert Harris Hutchison, House Flies, US Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 679, page 15, Of the numerous substances tried, the one which seems best to fulfill these conditions is powdered hellebore. Some of the powdered hellebore in use is prepared from the roots of a plant which botanists know as Veratrum viride, and which is popularly known as Indian polk or itch weed.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

any plant of the Eurasian genus Helleborus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: poisonous plant

Narrower terms: stinking hellebore, bear's foot, setterwort, Helleborus foetidus, Christmas rose, winter rose, black hellebore, Helleborus niger, lenten rose, Helleborus orientalis, green hellebore, Helleborus viridis

4

noun

Meaning 4

perennial herbs of the lily family having thick toxic rhizomes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: false hellebore

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: liliaceous plant

Narrower terms: white hellebore, American hellebore, Indian poke, bugbane, Veratrum viride

History

Etymology

From Middle English ellebore, from Old French ellebre, elebore, from Medieval Latin eleborus, via Latin from Ancient Greek ἑλλέβορος (helléboros), possibly from ἄλκη (álkē, “elk [moose]”) βιβρώσκω (bibrṓskō, “to eat”). The initial h was restored in English to reflect the Ancient Greek etymology.

Across languages

Translations

41 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: خَرْبَق (ḵarbaq) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Aramaic: ܚܘܪܒܟܢܐ (ḥurbaḵnā) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Armenian: ղանձլամեր (ġanjlamer) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Armenian: եղեբորոս (eġeboros) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Basque: otsababa — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Bulgarian: кукуряк (kukurjak) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Catalan: el·lèbor — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鹿食草 (lùshícǎo) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鐵筷子 /铁筷子 (tiěkuàizi) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 嚏根草 (tìgēncǎo) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Czech: čemeřice — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Dutch: nieskruid — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Erzya: теште (tešte) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Esperanto: heleboro — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Finnish: jouluruusu — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • French: hellébore — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • French: ellébore — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • German: Nieswurz — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • German: Schneerose — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • German: Christrose — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Greek: ελλέβορος (ellévoros) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Ancient Greek: ἑλλέβορος (helléboros) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Hungarian: hunyor — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Ido: heleboro — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Irish: eileabar — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Italian: elleboro — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Kazakh: аязшөп (aäzşöp) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Polish: ciemiernik — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Portuguese: heléboro — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Romanian: elebor — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Romanian: spânz — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Romanian: cucurig — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Romansh: starnidella — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Russian: чемери́ца (čemeríca) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Spanish: eléboro — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Swedish: julros — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Turkish: çöpleme — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Turkish: marulcuk — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Ottoman Turkish: بوینوز اوتی (boynuz otu) — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Welsh: pelydr — Any species of genus Helleborus
  • Welsh: crafanc-yr-arth — Any species of genus Helleborus