Digitalis
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /dɪdʒɪˈtÉ‘Ëlɪs/
- US IPA: /dɪdʒɪˈteɪlɪs/
Origin
Modern Latin, from Latin digitÄlis ("") (named with reference to the German common name for the plant, Fingerhut ("thimble")).
Full definition of digitalis
Noun
digitalis
(plural digitales)- A genus of herbaceous plants of the Plantaginaceae family, including the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea.
- A medical extract of Digitalis purpurea prescribed for heart failure etc.
- 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin 2010, p. 188:‘You very nearly died. I had to give you digitalis three times.’
- 2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2001, p. 25:The ancient remedy digitalis, extracted from the foxglove plant, for example, acts by blocking sodium channels in heart muscle, preventing potentially dangerous overactivity.