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hel·le·bore

(hĕlə-bôr′)

1. Any of various plants of the genus Helleborus of the buttercup family, native to Eurasia, most species of which are poisonous.

2. See false hellebore.

[Middle English ellebre, from Old French, from Latin elleborus, from Greek helleboros : perhaps hellos, fawn + -boros, eaten (from bibrōskein, to eat).]

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hellebore

California false hellebore

Veratrum californicum

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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