Chem. [f. L. tax-us yew + -IN1.] ‘A resinous substance obtained from the leaves of the yew-tree’ (Watts, Dict. Chem. [1868], V. 702). So Taxine sb., a poisonous alkaloid found in these leaves (Syd. Soc. Lex., 1899).
1907. Daily News, 21 Dec., 9. A post-mortem examination showed that he had eaten a quantity of yew leaves, which … contained taxine, a very active poison.
