Standard Lemma guide

hyoscyamine

noun · 2 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

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌhʌɪ.ə(ʊ)ˈsʌɪ.ə.miːn/
  • General-American: /ˌhaɪ.əˈsaɪ.əˌmin/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A poisonous alkaloid present in henbane that is the stereoisomer of atropine, with similar properties to hyoscine, and used medicinally to treat abdominal pain and similar conditions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, medicine, microbiology, natural-sciences, pharmacology, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a poisonous crystalline alkaloid (isometric with atropine but more potent); used to treat excess motility of the gastrointestinal tract

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: alkaloid, poison, toxicant, poisonous substance

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin hyoscyamus Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ine English hyoscyamine From Latin hyoscyamus (“henbane”) + English -ine.