Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A magic potion, mentioned by ancient writers, which was supposed to make persons forget their sorrows and misfortunes.
- noun A genus of pitcher-plants, comprising 31 species, and constituting the order Nepenthaceœ, found especially in the Malay archipelago.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Same as
nepenthe . - noun (Bot.) A genus of climbing plants found in tropical areas of India, Malaya, Australia, etc., which have the leaves prolonged into a kind of stout tendril terminating in a pitcherlike appendage, whence the plants are often called
pitcher plants andmonkey-cups . There are about thirty species, of which the best known isNepenthes distillatoria . SeePitcher plant .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
drug referred to in Homer's Odyssey as bringing relief from anxiety or grief; hence, any substance seen as bringing welcomeforgetfulness orrelief . - noun A Southeast Asian plant of the genus Nepenthes.
- noun Plural form of
nepenthe .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun pitcher plants
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Helena's bowl, the sole nectar of the gods, or that true nepenthes in
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[* I have since learned that this is an ascertained fact, and that nepenthes are among the insectiverous plants.]
The Golden Chersonese and the way thither Isabella Lucy 2004
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You can imagine the joy of getting into my hands these wonderful nepenthes or “monkey cups” for the first time.
The Golden Chersonese and the way thither Isabella Lucy 2004
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In pain itself I seemed to find the nepenthes that others seek from pain; in suffering was my Lethean draught that brought the only oblivion that I craved.
The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912
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The graceful pitcher-plants (_nepenthes_) are wonderful and so are many other extraordinary plant creations here, but they cannot be classed as beautiful flowers in the common acceptation of the word.
Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 Carl Lumholtz 1886
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I have since learned that this is an ascertained fact, and that nepenthes are among the insectiverous plants.
The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither Isabella Lucy 1883
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You can imagine the joy of getting into my hands these wonderful nepenthes or "monkey cups" for the first time.
The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither Isabella Lucy 1883
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The orchids were of the most brilliant colours; and now and then they passed a lake or pool in the depths of the jungle which would be covered in places with the flower of the lotus, while in every sunny opening the great clusters of nepenthes -- the pitcher plant -- brightened the scene.
Middy and Ensign George Manville Fenn 1870
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Here was a panacea, a pharmakon nepenthes for all human woes; here was the secret of happiness about which philosophers had disputed for so many ages: happiness might be bought for a penny, and carried in the waistcoat pocket.
Tales and Sketches Part 3, from Volume V., the Works of Whittier: Tales and Sketches John Greenleaf Whittier 1849
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Here was a panacea, a pharmakon nepenthes for all human woes; here was the secret of happiness about which philosophers had disputed for so many ages: happiness might be bought for a penny, and carried in the waistcoat pocket.
Tales and Sketches, Complete Volume V., the Works of Whittier: Tales and Sketches John Greenleaf Whittier 1849
nepenthes commented on the word nepenthes
ne·pen·thes /nɪˈpɛnθiz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciationni-pen-theez Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -thes.
1. nepenthe.
2. any of various tropical Asian and Australian pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes, having leaves usually in the form of cylindrical tubes.
Origin: < NL; see nepenthe
ne·pen·the (nĭ-pěn'thē) Pronunciation Key
n.
1. A drug mentioned in the Odyssey as a remedy for grief.
2. Something that induces forgetfulness of sorrow or eases pain.
Alteration of Latin nēpenthes, from Greek nēpenthes (pharmakon), grief-banishing (drug), nepenthe, neuter of nēpenthēs : nē-, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + penthos, grief; see kwent(h)- in Indo-European roots.
ne·pen'the·an (-thē-ən) adj.
December 11, 2006
ruzuzu commented on the word nepenthes
"A magic potion, mentioned by ancient writers, which was supposed to make persons forget their sorrows and misfortunes. Used poetically, and commonly in the form nepenthe, for any draught or drug capable of inducing forgetfulness of pain or care."
--Cent. Dict.
September 6, 2012