absinthe

See also: absînthe, Absinthe, and absinthé

English
Glasses of absinthe (3) with slotted spoons and sugar cubes.

Alternative forms

Etymology

Both from Middle French absinthe, from Latin absinthium, from Ancient Greek ἀψίνθιον (apsínthion, “wormwood”). Doublet of absinthium.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈæb.sɪnθ/, /ˈæb.sænθ/, /ˈæb.sæ̃θ/[1]
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun

absinthe (countable and uncountable, plural absinthes)

  1. The herb absinthium Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood); essence of wormwood. [from 1350–1470][2]
  2. (figurative) Bitterness; sorrow.[2] [from 1350–1470][2]
  3. A distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored liquor originally made from grande wormwood, anise, and other herbs. [from mid 19th c.][2]
    Synonym: (colloquial) green fairy
    • 2010, Paul Owens, Paul Nathan, The Little Green Book of Absinthe‎, Penguin, →ISBN:
      Absinthe ads like to trade on artists like Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec, as if the history of the green fairy began in the Pigalle neighborhood of 1870s Paris, but wormwood-infused drinks have been around for thousands of years.
  4. A moderate yellow green. [from late 19th c.][2]
    absinthe green:  
    Synonym: absinthe green
  5. (US) Sagebrush.

Usage notes
  • (wormwood): Absinth is the preferred spelling of this sense only.[2]

Derived terms

Translations

References
  1. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/absinthe
  2. Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “absinthe”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.

Further reading

Anagrams

French
absinthe

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin absinthium.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ap.sɛ̃t/
  • Audio(file)
  • Audio (Paris)(file)

Noun

absinthe f (plural absinthes)

  1. wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
  2. absinthe
    Synonym: fée verte

Descendants

Further reading
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