nepenthes
/nəˈpɛnθiz/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.64 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A drug mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (c. 8th century B.C.E.) as bringing relief from anxiety or grief; hence, any drug or substance seen as bringing welcome forgetfulness or relief.
Uncountable
noun
A Southeast Asian carnivorous plant of the genus Nepenthes; a monkey cup or tropical pitcher plant.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "[A]ll ye (whom I ſee here preſente) doe fare as if ye were well whittled, and thoroughly moyſted with the Nectar wine of Homericall godds, not without a portion of that iuyce of that meruailous herbe Nepenthes, whiche hath force to put ſadneſſe and meloncholie from the herte: […]"
- "And in her other hand a cup ſhe hild, / The which was with Nepenthe to the brim vpfild. // Nepenthe is a drinck of ſouerayne grace, / Deuized by the Gods, for to aſſwage / Harts grief, and bitter gall away to chace, / VVhich ſtirs vp anguiſh and contentious rage: / In ſtead thereof ſweet peace and quiet age / It doth eſtablish in the troubled mynd."
- "Read the Scripture […] T'is the beſt Nepenthes, ſureſt cordiall, ſweeteſt alteratiue, preſenteſt diuerter: […]"
- ""Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee / Respite—respite and Nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore. Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!""
- "Homer of Moly and Nepenthe singes: / Moly, the gods most soveraigne hearbe divine. / Nepenth Hellen's drink, which gladnes brings,— / Hart's greife repells, and doth yᵉ witts refine."
- "The nepenth of nostalgia is replaced by an amphetamine of anticipation."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin nēpenthes (“a drug bringing relief from grief”), from Ancient Greek νηπενθές (nēpenthés), neuter of νηπενθής (nēpenthḗs, “sorrow-banishing”), from νη- (nē-, “not”) + πένθος (pénthos, “grief”) (from πάσχειν (páskhein), present active infinitive of πάσχω (páskhō, “to be ill or injured in a certain way; to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷendʰ- (“to endure, to suffer”)). Compare French népenthès (“a plant from which a drug supposedly bringing relief from grief may be obtained; such a drug”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: nēpenthes, νηπενθές, *kʷendʰ-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nəˈpɛnθiz/
- British English: /nɪˈpɛnθiːz/