Poisonous Or Venomous?

Poisonous and Venemous
These are two adjectives that are often used interchangeably to define substances that can cause illness or death. To put this into perspective, let us consider an example.

The King Cobra is one of India's most poisonous snakes.

At first glance, the sentence given above might seem all right. But there is something wrong with it. To try and identify what that is, let's first understand the literal meaning of the word 'poisonous'. Merriam-Webster dictionary to the rescue!

Poisonous (adjective) : Producing a toxic substance that causes injury or death when absorbed or ingested.

Now, according to this definition, a person will have to eat a Cobra for the poison to have any effect. The smarter folk reading this will say "But its not the Cobra that kills but the poison in its fangs!" That's absolutely right BUT research has proven that snake poison will have no effect even if ingested (unless you have a cut or wound in the inner lining of your elementary canal). HOW THO! We'll get to that later. But now we must either change the definition of the word 'poisonous' or opt for an alternate word in order to satsify this contradictory example. This is where the word 'venom' originated.

Venom (noun) : A toxic substance produced by some animals (such as snakes, scorpions, or bees) that is injected into prey or an enemy chiefly by biting or stinging and has an injurious or lethal effect.

There! Now it makes sense! Snakes possess poison venom. Venom will have an effect only if it directly enters the bloodstream. This is what happens when a snakebite occurs. The venom from the fangs enters the bloodstream at the site of the bite wound. Venom is a mixture of proteins and proteins usually get digested in the stomach rendering the venom harmless. Beings that possess venom are called poisonous venomous. Now to rephrase our initial statement.

The King Cobra is one of India's most venomous snakes.

Perfect!