'asafetida' definitions:
Definition of 'asafetida'
From: WordNet
noun
The brownish gum resin of various plants; has strong taste and odor; formerly used as an antispasmodic [syn: asafetida, asafoetida]
Definition of 'asafetida'
From: GCIDE
- Ferula \Fer"u*la\, n. [L. ferula giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. ferire to strike; akin to OHG. berjan, Icel. berja. Cf. Ferule.]
- 1. A ferule. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The imperial scepter in the Byzantine or Eastern Empire. [1913 Webster]
- 3. [capitalized] A genus of plants of the parsley family Apiaceae (of the order Umbelliferae), including some yielding asafetida. Members include Ferula asafoetida (Ferula foetida), the giant fennel (Ferula communis), and Ferula orientalis. [PJC]