wormwood

worm·wood (wûrm

)

1. Any of several aromatic plants of the genus Artemisia, especially A. absinthium, native to Europe, yielding a bitter extract used in making absinthe and in flavoring certain wines.

2. Something harsh or embittering.

[Middle English wormwode, alteration (influenced by worm, worm, and wode, wood, perhaps from the use of its leaves as a vermifuge) of wermod, from Old English wermd, from Germanic *wermdaz.]

wormwood [ˈwɜːmˌwʊd]

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) Also called absinthe any of various plants of the chiefly N temperate genus Artemisia, esp A. absinthium, a European plant yielding a bitter extract used in making absinthe: family Asteraceae (composites)

2. something that embitters, such as a painful experience

[changed (through influence of worm and wood¹) from Old English wormōd, wermōd; related to Old High German werrnuata, German Wermut; see vermouth]

wormwood - There are no worms or wood involved in wormwood, which is an alteration of the word wermod, a plant used for making vermouth, absinthe and medicine.

See also related terms for worms.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun

wormwood - any of several low composite herbs of the genera Artemisia or Seriphidium

aster family, Asteraceae, Compositae, family Asteraceae, family Compositae - plants with heads composed of many florets: aster; daisy; dandelion; goldenrod; marigold; lettuces; ragweed; sunflower; thistle; zinnia

mugwort - any of several weedy composite plants of the genus Artemisia

Artemisia abrotanum, southernwood - shrubby European wormwood naturalized in North America; sometimes used in brewing beer

absinthe, Artemisia absinthium, common wormwood, lad's love, old man - aromatic herb of temperate Eurasia and North Africa having a bitter taste used in making the liqueur absinthe

Artemisia annua, sweet wormwood - wormwood of southeastern Europe to Iran

Artemisia campestris, field wormwood - European wormwood similar to common wormwood in its properties

Artemisia frigida, prairie sagewort, wormwood sage - silky-leaved aromatic perennial of dry northern parts of the northern hemisphere; has tawny florets

Artemis pontica, Roman wormwood - European wormwood; minor source of absinthe

Artemisia stelleriana, beach wormwood, old woman, dusty miller - herb with greyish leaves found along the east coast of North America; used as an ornamental plant

Artemisia maritima, sea wormwood, Seriphidium maritimum - plants of western and northern European coasts

subshrub, suffrutex - low-growing woody shrub or perennial with woody base

Translations

wormwood [ˈwɜːmwʊd] N

1. → ajenjo m

2. (fig) → hiel f, amargura f

wormwood

n → Wermut m; (fig) → Wermutstropfen m

wormwood [ˈwɜːmˌwʊd] n (Bot) → assenzio

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absinth absinthe absinthe oil Artemis pontica Artemisia abrotanum Artemisia absinthium Artemisia annua Artemisia campestris Artemisia frigida Artemisia maritima Artemisia stelleriana beach wormwood common wormwood field wormwood genus Artemisia lad's love old woman prairie sagewort Roman wormwood	He walked along the meadow, dragging his feet, rustling the grass, and gazing at the dust that covered his boots; now he took big strides trying to keep to the footprints left on the meadow by the mowers, then he counted his steps, calculating how often he must walk from one strip to another to walk a mile, then he stripped the flowers from the wormwood that grew along a boundary rut, rubbed them in his palms, and smelled their pungent, sweetly bitter scent. War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo View in context It begun then--at the time of the trouble with her lover," nodded Old Tom; "and it seems as if she'd been feedin' on wormwood an' thistles ever since--she's that bitter an' prickly ter deal with. Pollyanna by Porter, Eleanor H. View in context Removing the weeds, putting fresh soil about the bean stems, and encouraging this weed which I had sown, making the yellow soil express its summer thought in bean leaves and blossoms rather than in wormwood and piper and millet grass, making the earth say beans instead of grass -- this was my daily work. Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David View in context	worm's eye view worm's-eye view worm-eaten Worm-shaped Worm-shell worm’s-eye view Wormal wormcast Wormed wormery wormfly wormgrass wormhole Wormian Wormian bone Wormian bones Wormil worming worming tablet wormlike Wormling Worms wormseed wormseed mustard Wormul wormwood Wormwood hare wormwood oil wormwood sage wormy worn Worn land worn out worn spot worn-out Wornil Worral worried worried well worriedly worrier worriment worrisome worrit worry worry beads worryguts worrying Worryingly worrywart worse	Worms Armageddon Worms Armageddon Clan League Worms Forts Under Siege worms out worms out worms out Worms United worms way into worms way into worms way into Worms World Party Worms, animals Worms, animals Worms, animals Worms, Concordat Worms, Concordat of Worms, Diet Worms, Diet of Worms, Edict of WORMSC wormseed wormseed wormseed wormseed mustard wormseed mustard wormseed oil wormseeds wormseeds Wormsloe State Historic Site Wormul wormwood Wormwood hare wormwood oil wormwood oil wormwood sage wormwoods wormwoods wormwoods wormy wormy worn worn worn worn worn worn Worn Currencies Worn Currency worn down worn down worn down worn down worn heart on sleeve worn heart on sleeve worn heart on sleeve worn heart on sleeve worn hoof worn hoof worn hoof Worn land worn off

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absinth
absinthe
absinthe oil
Artemis pontica
Artemisia abrotanum
Artemisia absinthium
Artemisia annua
Artemisia campestris
Artemisia frigida
Artemisia maritima
Artemisia stelleriana
beach wormwood
common wormwood
field wormwood
genus Artemisia
lad's love
old woman
prairie sagewort
Roman wormwood

He walked along the meadow, dragging his feet, rustling the grass, and gazing at the dust that covered his boots; now he took big strides trying to keep to the footprints left on the meadow by the mowers, then he counted his steps, calculating how often he must walk from one strip to another to walk a mile, then he stripped the flowers from the wormwood that grew along a boundary rut, rubbed them in his palms, and smelled their pungent, sweetly bitter scent.

War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo View in context

It begun then--at the time of the trouble with her lover," nodded Old Tom; "and it seems as if she'd been feedin' on wormwood an' thistles ever since--she's that bitter an' prickly ter deal with.

Pollyanna by Porter, Eleanor H. View in context

Removing the weeds, putting fresh soil about the bean stems, and encouraging this weed which I had sown, making the yellow soil express its summer thought in bean leaves and blossoms rather than in wormwood and piper and millet grass, making the earth say beans instead of grass -- this was my daily work.

Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David View in context

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wormwood