n. [ OE. hemeluc, humloc, AS. hemlic, hymlic. ] 1. (Bot.) The name of several poisonous umbelliferous herbs having finely cut leaves and small white flowers, as the Cicuta maculata, Cicuta bulbifera, and Cicuta virosa, and the Conium maculatum. See Conium. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ The potion of hemlock administered to Socrates is by some thought to have been a decoction of Cicuta virosa, or water hemlock, by others, of Conium maculatum. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. (Bot.) An evergreen tree common in North America (Abies Canadensis or Tsuga Canadensis); hemlock spruce. [ 1913 Webster ]
The murmuring pines and the hemlocks. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]
3. The wood or timber of the hemlock tree. [ 1913 Webster ]
Ground hemlock, or
Dwarf hemlock. See under Ground. [ 1913 Webster ]