ˈhemˌläk noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English hemeluc, hemlok, homelok, from Old English hemlic, hymlic, perhaps from hymele hop plant; akin to Middle Low German homele hop plant, Old Norse humli; all probably of Finno-Ugric origin akin to Finnish humala hop plant & Vogul qumlix
1.
a. : any of several poisonous herbs having finely cut leaves and small white flowers ; especially : any of the water hemlocks or the poison hemlock
b. : conium 2
2. also hemlock fir or hemlock spruce
a. : a tree of the genus Tsuga — see carolina hemlock , eastern hemlock , mountain hemlock , western hemlock ; tree illustration
b. : the soft coarse light splintery wood of a hemlock tree
3. : any of several prostrate evergreens of the genus Taxus