nepenthe
a drug or drink, or the plant yielding it, mentioned by ancient writers as having the power to bring forgetfulness of sorrow or trouble.
anything inducing a pleasurable sensation of forgetfulness, especially of sorrow or trouble.
Origin of nepenthe
1Other words from nepenthe
- ne·pen·the·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use nepenthe in a sentence
Others are surprising without qualification, like Nepenthes, which dangle a water jug at the tip of every leaf.
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick BoyleHe also found quantities of a pitcher plant, Nepenthes (which lives mainly on insects caught in its pitchers).
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott ElliotBut certain insects have somehow managed to educate their larv to resist the gastric juices of Nepenthes.
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott ElliotBut, in Nepenthes, there is also a distinct secretion which digests 345 the bodies of the drowning insects.
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott ElliotI am delighted to hear that you are at work on Nepenthes, and I hope that you will have good luck.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II | Charles Darwin
British Dictionary definitions for nepenthe
/ (nɪˈpɛnθɪ) /
a drug, or the plant providing it, that ancient writers referred to as a means of forgetting grief or trouble
anything that produces sleep, forgetfulness, or pleasurable dreaminess
Origin of nepenthe
1Derived forms of nepenthe
- nepenthean, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse