Meaning and Origin
What does the name Belladonna mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Belladonna
User Submitted Origins
Italian
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User Submitted Meanings
- 3 people from all over the world agree the name Belladonna means "Beautiful Lady".
- According to a user from Iowa, U.S., the name Belladonna means "Belladonna is a flower that's also known as deadly nightshade. Therefore, it can connotate venom or poison disguised as a beautiful (bella) lady (donna)".
- A submission from the United Kingdom says the name Belladonna means "Beautiful woman".
- A submission from the United Kingdom says the name Belladonna means "Beautiful" and is of Italian origin.
- According to a user from Canada, the name Belladonna is of Italian origin and means "Beautiful girl".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Bel`la*don"na
An herbaceous European plant (Atropa belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called also deadly nightshade.A species of Amaryllis Amaryllis belladonna); the belladonna lily.
Etymology: It., literally fine lady; bella beautiful + donna lady
Other Dictionary Sources
- An alkaloidal extract or tincture of the poisonous belladonna plant that is used medicinally
- Perennial Eurasian herb with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries; extensively grown in United States; roots and leaves yield atropine
Wiktionary
Borrowing from Italian belladonna (bella donna, literally “beautiful lady”), altered by folk etymology from Medieval Latin blādōna (“nightshade”), from Gaulish *blātōnā, blātunā, from Proto-Celtic *blātus (“flower”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰléh₃tus, from *bʰleh₃- (“blossom, flower”). The folk etymology was motivated by the cosmetic use of nightshade for dilating the eyes.
- A plant, Atropa belladonna, having purple bell-shaped flowers and poisonous black glossy berries.
- An alkaloid extracted from this plant, sometimes used medicinally, containing atropine.
belladonna was also found in the following language(s): Dutch, Finnish, Italian, and Latin