SENNA

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does senna mean? 

• SENNA (noun)
  The noun SENNA has 1 sense:

1. any of various plants of the genus Senna having pinnately compound leaves and showy usually yellow flowers; many are used medicinally

  Familiarity information: SENNA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SENNA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various plants of the genus Senna having pinnately compound leaves and showy usually yellow flowers; many are used medicinally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("senna" is a kind of...):

bush; shrub (a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "senna"):

Cassia alata; ringworm bush; ringworm cassia; ringworm shrub; Senna alata (tropical shrub (especially of Americas) having yellow flowers and large leaves whose juice is used as a cure for ringworm and poisonous bites; sometimes placed in genus Cassia)

avaram; Cassia auriculata; Senna auriculata; tanner's cassia (evergreen Indian shrub with vivid yellow flowers whose bark is used in tanning; sometimes placed in genus Cassia)

Alexandria senna; Alexandrian senna; Cassia acutifolia; Cassia augustifolia; Indian senna; Senna alexandrina; tinnevelly senna; true senna (erect shrub having racemes of tawny yellow flowers; the dried leaves are used medicinally as a cathartic; sometimes placed in genus Cassia)

Cassia occidentalis; coffee senna; mogdad coffee; Senna occidentalis; stinking weed; styptic weed (very leafy malodorous tropical weedy shrub whose seeds have been used as an adulterant for coffee; sometimes classified in genus Cassia)

Holonyms ("senna" is a member of...):

genus Senna (genus of shrubs and trees and herbs many of which are often classified as members of the genus Cassia)

 Context examples 

Ex-Lax contains anthraquinone glycosides sennosides, extracted from senna leaves.

(Ex-Lax, NCI Thesaurus)

Mrs. March knew that experience was an excellent teacher, and when it was possible she left her children to learn alone the lessons which she would gladly have made easier, if they had not objected to taking advice as much as they did salts and senna.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)