veneficial
English edit
Etymology edit
From venefice.
Adjective edit
veneficial (comparative more veneficial, superlative most veneficial)
- (dated, now rare) Poisonous or poisoning; pertaining to poison; malignant, sorcerous.
- 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 213:
- Why the Goddesses sit commonly crosse-legged in ancient draughts, Since Juno is described in the same as a veneficial posture to hinder the birth of Hercules?
- 1963, Rossell Hope Robbins, The encyclopedia of witchcraft and demonology, page 545:
- […]
3. The chanting, canting, or calculating witch, who works by signs and numbers.
4. The veneficial or poisoning witch.
5. The exorcist or conjuring witch.
- 1964, Nature and Life in Southeast Asia, volumes 3-4, page 393:
- […] utilization of parasitic and predacious insects for the control of crop insect pests. It is expected to find in the tropics many veneficial insects […]