# nightshade

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈnaɪt.ʃeɪd/ · frequency rank #50,109

## Definitions
1. Any of the poisonous plants belonging to the genus Solanum, especially black nightshade or woody nightshade.
2. Any plant of the wider Solanaceae family, including the nightshades as well as tomato, potato, eggplant, and deadly nightshade.
3. Belladonna or deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna).
4. Any of several plants likened to nightshade, usually because of similar dark-colored berries.

## Etymology
From Middle English nyȝtschade, niȝteschode, nyght shade, from Old English nihtsċada, from Proto-West Germanic *nahtskadō (“nightshade”), corresponding to night + shade. Compare Dutch nachtschade (“nightshade”), German Nachtschatten (“nightshade”).

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