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Webster 1913 Edition


Croton

Cro′ton

(kr?′t?n)
,
Noun.
[Gr. [GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK], prop., a tick, which the seed of the croton resembles.]
(Bot.)
A genus of euphorbiaceous plants belonging to tropical countries.
Croton oil
(Med.)
,
a viscid, acrid, brownish yellow oil obtained from the seeds of
Croton Tiglium
, a small tree of the East Indies. It is a most powerful drastic cathartic, and is used externally as a pustulant.

Definition 2024


Croton

Croton

See also: croton and crôton

Translingual

Etymology

New Latin, from Ancient Greek κροτών (krotṓn, tick), from the size and shape of the seed.

Proper noun

Croton m

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Euphorbiaceae – many Asiatic shrubs, the source of croton oil.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms


English

A map of the Croton river's drainage basin.

Proper noun

Croton

  1. A river in southern New York.
  2. (dated) The water supply of New York City. [from 1840]
    • 1869, “Annual report of the Department of Public Charities of the City of New York”, in (Please provide the title of the work), page 178:
      The pumps now draw water from this tank, instead of from the "Croton main" as formerly.
    • 1891, Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects, page 364:
      The water, supplied from the "Croton" main at the 68th Street side of the building, is connected by two pipes: one for direct service, and the other to supply a hot-air engine, which forces the water to the tank at the top of the house for a high or indirect service.
    • 1895 June 29, “THE POOR WATER SUPPLY; Business Men Alarmed by The New-York Times Exposures”, in New York Times:
      New York Cotton Exchange - A pressure of about 14 pounds from the Croton main

Derived terms

References

  1. Native New Yorkers: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York
  2. Robert S. Grumet, Manhattan to Minisink: American Indian Place Names (2013, ISBN 0806189134) notes that the spelling Scroton is found in a 1696 document

Latin

Alternative forms

  • Crotōna

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Κρότων (Krótōn).

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkro.toːn/, [ˈkrɔ.toːn]

Proper noun

Crotōn f (genitive Crotōnis); third declension

  1. Crotone (city in Italy)

Declension

Third declension.

Case Singular
nominative Crotōn
genitive Crotōnis
dative Crotōnī
accusative Crotōnem
ablative Crotōne
vocative Crotōn

Derived terms

  • Crotōniensis

References

croton

croton

See also: Croton and crôton

English

Noun

croton (plural crotons)

  1. Any of various plants, of the genus Croton, that yield croton oil.
  2. A tropical evergreen shrub, Codiaeum variegatum, having glossy foliage, cultivated as a houseplant.
    • 1934, George Orwell, Burmese Days, Chapter 15,
      The croton bushes, by day hideous things like jaundiced laurels, were changed by the moon into jagged black and white designs like fantastic wood-cuts.

Translations