Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HEM'LOCK, n. [Sax. hemleac; the latter syllable is the same as leek. Qu. is it not a border-plant, a plant growing in hedges?]

1. A plant of the genus Conium, whose leaves and root are poisonous.
2. A tree of the genus Pinus, an evergreen.
3. A poison, an infusion or decoction of the poisonous plant. Popular liberty might then have escaped the indelible reproach of decreeing to the same citizens the hemlock on one day, and statues on the next. – Federalist, Madison.