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sen·na

(sĕnə)

1. Any of various plants in the pea family, chiefly of the genera Senna and Chamaecrista, having pinnately compound leaves and showy, nearly regular, usually yellow flowers, used as ornamentals and for medicinal purposes.

2. A preparation of the dried leaves of Senna alexandrina, used as a laxative.

[New Latin, from Arabic sanā; akin to Aramaic sanyā, a thorn-bush.]

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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