# hemlock

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɛmˌlɒk/ · frequency rank #34,521

## Definitions
1. Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera
2. Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera
3. Poison obtained from these Conium and Cicuta plants.
4. Any of several coniferous trees, of the genus Tsuga, that grow in North America; the wood of such trees.

## Etymology
From Middle English hemlok, hemeluc, from Old English hemlīc, hymlīc m and hymlīce f (“hemlock, bryony, convolvulus”), of uncertain origin.
speculative etymology
Compare Old English hymele (“hop-vine, hops”), Old English humele (“bryony, widerton, hair moss, gold-hair, morning glory”), Danish and Swedish humle (“hops”), Icelandic humall (“hops”). Perhaps from Scythian, from Proto-Iranian *háwHmah (“ephedra; juice”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sáwHmas from Proto-Indo-European *sewh₁- (“to press out, extract”).
;cognates
* (from Sarmato-Scythian *haumala) Ossetian хумӕллӕг (xumællæg, “hops”)
* (from Sarmato-Scythian *hauma) Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀 (haoma), Baluchi [script needed] (hum), Persian هوم (hôm))
* (from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma) Sanskrit सोम (soma))
More at suck.

## Easily confused with
- **hammock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hammock-vs-hemlock)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ehmlock`, `helmock`, `hemlcok`, `hemllock`, `hemlocck`, `hemlockk`, `hemlokc`, `hemmlock`, `hemolck`, `hhemlock`, `hmelock`

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