Alkaloid use of Ephedra and opium poppies. Also, coca leaves have been used by South American Indians since ancient times. Extracts from plants containing toxic alkaloids, such as aconitine and tubocurarine, were used since antiquity for poisoning arrows. Studies of alkaloids began in the 19th century. In 1804, the German chemist Friedrich Sertürner isolated from opium a "soporific principle" (), which he called "morphium" in honor of Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams; in German and some other Central-European languages, this is still the name of the drug. The term "morphine", used in English and French, was given by the French
Absalom (name) English surname, recorded as early as in the early 13th century. It derives from the first name "Absalom" which became popular in England in the 12th century. The surname remained rare throughout its existence, but it gave rise to a number of variants, such as "Asplen", and via the latter "Aspling" and "Ashplant". The variant "Absolon" is found in England as well as in France and Germany, reaching Central Europe in the late medieval period, so that "Absolon" (feminine "Absolonová") is now also a Czech and Slovak surname. Absalom (name) Absalom (English pronunciation , ; Biblical Greek ) is a