absinthe

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A perennial aromatic European herb (Artemisia absinthium), naturalized in eastern North America and having pinnatifid, silvery silky leaves and numerous nodding flower heads. Also called common wormwood.
2. n. A green liqueur having a bitter anise or licorice flavor and a high alcohol content, prepared from absinthe and other herbs, and now prohibited in many countries because of its toxicity.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The common name of a highly aromatic liqueur of an opaline-green color and bitter taste; an abbreviation of extrait d'absinthe, extract of absinthium. It is prepared by steeping in alcohol or strong spirit bitter herbs, the chief of which are Artemisia Absinthium, A. mutellina, A. spicata; besides which some recipes mention plants that are not of this genus, and can be intended only to modify the bitter of the wormwoods; the liquor so flavored is then redistilled. It is considered tonic and stomachic. Its excessive use produces a morbid condition differing somewhat from ordinary alcoholism. Vertigo and epileptiform convulsions are marked symptoms, and hallucinations occur without other symptoms of delirium tremens. The use of it prevailed at one time among the French soldiers in Algiers, but it is now forbidden throughout the French army. The most common way of preparing it for drinking is by pouring it into water drop by drop or allowing it to trickle through a funnel with a minute opening; so prepared, it is called la hussarde, and is common in the cafés of France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Wiktionary

1. n. US Sagebrush

WordNet 3.0

1. n. aromatic herb of temperate Eurasia and North Africa having a bitter taste used in making the liqueur absinthe
2. n. strong green liqueur flavored with wormwood and anise