noun · 3 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.
/ˈhɛnbeɪn/
Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:HH EH1 N B EY2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A poisonous plant, Hyoscyamus niger, used sometimes as a drug that causes at least hallucinations, dilated pupils, restlessness, and flushed skin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: black henbane, hog's bane, hog's bean, stinking nightshade
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any other plant of the genus Hyoscyamus.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
poisonous fetid Old World herb having sticky hairy leaves and yellow-brown flowers; yields hyoscyamine and scopolamine
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: black henbane, stinking nightshade, Hyoscyamus niger
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: herb, herbaceous plant
History
Etymology
From Middle English henbane, hennebane ( > French hanebane), equivalent to hen + bane. Cognate with Danish hønsebane, Swedish hönsbane. Compare also Old English hennebelle (“henbane”, literally “hen-bell”).
Across languages
Translations
81 source translations are retained for this English entry.
