Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The common wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium, a European species, much cultivated for its bitter qualities.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) The common wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), an intensely bitter plant, used as a tonic and for making the oil of wormwood.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin absinthium, from Ancient Greek ἀψίνθιον (apsinthion), ἀσπίνθιον (apsinthion). The Ancient Greek word is of uncertain origin, albeit recognized as foreign (E.R. Wharton): underlain by a pre-Greek Pelasgian word, marked by the non-Indoeuropean consonant complex νθ. May be from Persian اسپند (ispand, "wild rue"). See also Absinthe on Wikipedia.

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Examples

  • Absinthe is made by macerating herbs and spices, including anise and fennel, with the grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) that gives the drink its name.

    Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder 2010

  • US Customs and Border Protection is responsible for checking all shipments from overseas, and the agency's take on the Green Fairy seems pretty cut-and-dried: "The importation of absinthe and any other liquors or liqueurs that contain Artemisia absinthium is prohibited."

    Mr. Know-It-All: Emailing China, Ordering Absinthe, Informing Your Kids 2007

  • Now an environmental chemist from New Orleans named Ted Breaux claims to have re-created the original exactly, using a couple of hundred-year-old bottles of original Pernod absinthe to distill the recipe: a half-dozen-odd botanicals, including Spanish green anise, Alpine hyssop and absinthium.

    Real Absinthe 2007

  • The Katzer pages and this botanical log confirm the similar Russian names: mugwort is Чернобыльник ( "Chernobylnik") or botanically Полынь Обыкновенная (Common Polyn);, and according to the southernwood page, wormwood aka Artemisia absinthium is Полынь горькая ( "Bitter Polyn" again).

    Archive 2004-05-01 Ray Girvan 2004

  • The Katzer pages and this botanical log confirm the similar Russian names: mugwort is Чернобыльник ( "Chernobylnik") or botanically Полынь Обыкновенная (Common Polyn);, and according to the southernwood page, wormwood aka Artemisia absinthium is Полынь горькая ( "Bitter Polyn" again).

    A star called Mugwort Ray Girvan 2004

  • In Europe, however, this isn't the case; "wormwood" is used only for the absinth-producing species, Artemisia absinthium.

    Archive 2004-05-01 Ray Girvan 2004

  • In Europe, however, this isn't the case; "wormwood" is used only for the absinth-producing species, Artemisia absinthium.

    A star called Mugwort Ray Girvan 2004

  • The most notorious herbal alcohol is absinthe, a green-tinged, anise-flavored liqueur whose main ingredient is parts of the wormwood plant, Artemisia absinthium.

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

  • The most notorious herbal alcohol is absinthe, a green-tinged, anise-flavored liqueur whose main ingredient is parts of the wormwood plant, Artemisia absinthium.

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

  • Die isolierung von weiteren kristallinin Substanzen aus Wermut (Artemisia absinthium L.).

    Chapter 5 1953

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