| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| stavesacre |
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| SYLLABICATION: | staves·a·cre |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  st vz  k r |
| NOUN: | 1. A larkspur, Delphinium staphisagria, of southern Europe, with greenish-white flowers. 2. The poisonous seeds of this plant, formerly used medicinally as an emetic, a cathartic, and an external parasiticide. | | ETYMOLOGY: | By folk etymology from Middle English staphisagre, from Latin staphis agria, from Greek staphis agri : staphis, stavesacre + agri, feminine of agrios, wild; see agro- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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