Empoisonment

/ɛmˈpɔɪzənmənt/ noun

Definition

The act or process of poisoning something or someone.

Etymology

From Old French 'empoisoner' (to poison), combining 'en-' (to put into) + 'poison'. The word traveled from French into Middle English and evolved to include the abstract noun form with the '-ment' suffix.

Kelly Says

This word was especially common in Renaissance England when poison was a popular method of murder among nobility—so common that people needed a specific word for it! Shakespeare and his contemporaries used this term frequently in their plays about court intrigue and betrayal.

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