# ergotism

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The plant disease caused by ergot.
2. The effect of long-term ergot poisoning, traditionally due to the ingestion of the alkaloids produced by the fungus Claviceps purpurea which infects rye and other cereals, and more recently by the action of a number of ergoline-based drugs, consisting of convulsive and gangrenous symptoms.
3. The use of ergot-infested grain to poison animals.

## Etymology
From ergot + -ism.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ergotism