absinthe
/ˈæb.sɪnθ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.69 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The herb absinthium Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood); essence of wormwood.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored liquor originally made from grande wormwood, anise, and other herbs.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Let us go out and drink to the very good health of Monsieur Tarzan in some of old Plancon’s unparalleled absinth; not forgetting that the Count de Coude is one of the best swordsmen in Paris, and by far the best shot in all France."
- "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."
Etymology
* (wormwood; figuratively bitterness, sorrow): From Middle English absinthe. * (liquor): From Modern French absinthe. Both from Middle French absinthe, from Latin absinthium, from Ancient Greek ἀψίνθιον (apsínthion, “wormwood”). Doublet of absinthium.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: absinthe, absinthium, ἀψίνθιον
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- American usage