Toadstool
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Toadstool is another word for mushroom. It can be used to refer to any mushroom, but is typically restricted to poisonous, inedible varieties. It sometimes also refers more specifically to Amanita muscaria - a particular species of poisonous mushroom. [1] The term dates from the fourteenth century and is a fanciful name combining toad, which were associated with poison, and stool, which is an archaic term for the head of a mushroom.[2] Another explanation comes from the German translation of tod-stuhl, literally, "death-chair," referring to the shape of the fruiting body and also to the slow, agonizing death from mushroom poisoning for those who eat it.
[edit] References
- ^ Difference between a mushroom and a toadstool
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary: Entries for toadstool & stool (requires subscription.)
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