the word 'strychnine' entered english in the early 19th century from french, which adapted it from the modern latin scientific term strychnina. this, in turn, was coined from the latin genus name strychnos, borrowed from ancient greek. in greek, στρύχνος (strýchnos) originally referred to various plants in the nightshade family, but through botanical classification, it became specifically associated with the strychnos nux-vomica tree, from whose seeds the alkaloid is extracted. the journey from a general ancient plant name to the specific, potent poison illustrates the precision of modern scientific nomenclature, where historical terms are repurposed to label newly isolated chemical compounds.

the word is a loanword adopted as a single unit from french. it is derived from the latin genus name strychnos, which came from the ancient greek στρύχνος (strýchnos), a term for a kind of nightshade plant.