digitalis

UK: /ˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪlɪs/ US: (dij′i tal′is, -tā′lis)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

dig•i•tal•is  (dij′i tal′is, -tā′lis), n. 

1. Plant Biology any plant belonging to the genus Digitalis, of the figwort family, esp. the common foxglove, D. purpurea.
2. Drugs the dried leaves of the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, used in medicine as a heart stimulant.

• Neo-Latin digitālis, a name apparently suggested by the German name for the foxglove, Fingerhut literally, thimble; see digital
• 1655–65

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

digitalis / ˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪlɪs/ noun

1. any Eurasian scrophulariaceous plant of the genus Digitalis, such as the foxglove, having bell-shaped flowers and a basal rosette of leaves
2. a drug prepared from the dried leaves or seeds of the foxglove: a mixture of glycosides used medicinally to treat heart failure and some abnormal heart rhythms

Etymology: 17th Century: from New Latin, from Latin: relating to a finger (referring to the corollas of the flower); based on German Fingerhut foxglove, literally: finger-hat or thimble