A.Word.A.Day --wormwood

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Jan 7, 2011

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Words related to trees and plants

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dendroid
ligneous
primrose path
sylvan
wormwood

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Photo: Doug Waylett

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

wormwood

PRONUNCIATION:

(WUHRM-wood)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A plant of the genus Artemisia, used in making absinthe and medicines.
2. Something that brings bitterness or grief.

ETYMOLOGY:

From alteration of wermod, of obscure origin. Earliest documented use: 1400.

USAGE:

"It is gall and wormwood for a leader already politically crippled by Britain's commitment in Iraq to find himself now also engaged in a confrontation with Iran."
Max Hastings; Iran, the Vicious Victim; The New York Times; Mar 30, 2007.

See more usage examples of wormwood in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Habit with him was all the test of truth, / It must be right: I've done it from my youth. -George Crabbe, poet and naturalist (1754-1832)

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