wormwood

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a strongly aromatic, intensely bitter plant of the genus Artemisia, especially Artemisia absinthium

   The herbalist grew wormwood for its silvery leaves and bitter oils.

2. 2
   noun

   literary: a source of bitterness, grief, or deep resentment

   The rival's unexpected success was wormwood to the defeated candidate.

From Middle English wormwode, a folk-etymological reshaping of Old English wermōd, the plant's inherited Germanic name. The modern form looks like worm + wood but did not originate as that compound. German Wermut, a cognate, passed through French to give English vermouth.

Topics