asafetida

3 definitions found

asafetida - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Asafetida \As`a*fet"i*da\, Asafoetida \As`a*f[oe]t"i*da\, n.
     [Asa + L. foetidus fetid.]
     The fetid gum resin or inspissated juice of a large
     umbelliferous plant (Ferula asafoetida) of Persia and the
     East Indies. It is used in medicine as an antispasmodic.
     [Written also assafoetida.]
     [1913 Webster]

  Ferula \Fer"u*la\, n. [L. ferula giant fennel (its stalks were
     used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. ferire to
     strike; akin to OHG. berjan, Icel. berja. Cf. Ferule.]
     1. A ferule. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The imperial scepter in the Byzantine or Eastern Empire.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. [capitalized] A genus of plants of the parsley family
        Apiaceae (of the order Umbelliferae), including some
        yielding asafetida. Members include Ferula asafoetida
        (Ferula foetida), the giant fennel (Ferula communis),
        and Ferula orientalis.
        [PJC]

asafetida - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  asafetida
      n 1: the brownish gum resin of various plants; has strong taste
           and odor; formerly used as an antispasmodic [syn:
           asafetida, asafoetida]