Calabar \Cal"a*bar\, n.
A district on the west coast of Africa.
Calabar bean, The of a climbing legumious plant
(Physostigma venenosum), a native of tropical Africa. It
is highly poisonous. It is used to produce contraction of
the pupil of the eye; also in tetanus, neuralgia, and
rheumatic diseases; -- called also ordeal bean, being
used by the negroes in trials for witchcraft.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |