Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A drug mentioned in the Odyssey as a remedy for grief.
- n. Something that induces forgetfulness of sorrow or eases pain.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as nepenthes. 1.
Wiktionary
- n. A drug that relieves one of emotional pain, grief or sorrow; nepenthes.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A drug used by the ancients to give relief from pain and sorrow; -- by some supposed to have been opium or hasheesh. Hence, anything soothing and comforting.
Etymologies
- Alteration of Latin nēpenthes, from Greek nēpenthes (pharmakon), grief-banishing (drug), nepenthe, neuter of nēpenthēs : nē-, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + penthos, grief; see kwent(h)- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Egyptians they found something they called nepenthe, and the Theban women knew how to compound it.”
“The delirium it produces is known to be so very pleasing that Pope has supposed this to have been designed by Homer when he describes the delicious draught prepared by Helen, called nepenthe, which exhilarated the spirits and banished from the mind the recollection of woe.”
“Written references to what Homer called nepenthe, the "potent destroyer of grief," date to the ninth century BC.”
“Quaff, oh quaff this kind of nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore.”
CNN Transcript - Special Event: Senators Clinton and Schumer Read "The Raven" - January 30, 2001
“Unguents and astringents were in use in the physician's art, and there is reference to "nepenthe," a narcotic drug, and also to the use of sulphur as a disinfectant.”
“Then to restore a more cheerful atmosphere, Helen casts "nepenthe" into the wine, thanks to which beneficent drug all soon forget their woes.”
“Soothed by "nepenthe," all retire to rest, and when morning dawns”
“The band's growing reputation as an amazing live experience in conjunction with the breakout success of their debut album "nepenthe" has garnered a dedicated following and mainstream buzz that continues to grow.”
“The main character, Solace, is a vampire, but I wouldn't really classify it as a vampire novel, seeing as how she's not preoccupied with biting people so much as figuring out who the faceless man following her is, making friends with a group of Rare, drinking nepenthe and, just occasionally, surviving.”
“Then came nepenthe and scholium, aleatoric and consuetude.”
The Washington Post: Pool of National Spelling Bee competitors whittled down to 48
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘nepenthe’.
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 414 more...
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Eollodwyn's list
Favoritest Words Ever
abscond, draconian, wan, neophyte, defenestration, busker, sibilant, superfluous, facetious, zealot, auspicious, hubris and 9 more...
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Slam Fodder
Those words that will inevitable end up in a Slam Poem
feel free to challenge me!:)bumptious, gamekeeper, slamily, burbuliatorius, cryptomnesia, paradox, pulchritudinous, mimetic, anhedonia, skelf, rampike, furlough and 84 more...
sionnach That's because you're always lolling about in the arms of Morphee. Or, as we Irish prefer to say, the arms of Murphy. Sep 30, 2011
ruzuzu Nevermore. I know not Lethe nor Nepenthe. Sep 30, 2011
milosrdenstvi Quaff, oh quaff. Sep 30, 2011
beautifulpyre A nepenthe is said to be a potion that soothes by causing a person to forget bad memories.
I first came across it as the name of the main character in The Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip (love her!). Apr 30, 2009
chained_bear "...he was still so stupid that he might have been stuffed with poppy, mandrake and nepenthe, and it took him some moments to understand the steward's cry, 'Come on, sir, We'm sunk.'"
--Patrick O'Brian, The Letter of Marque, 242 Feb 29, 2008
npydyuan Oh, way to take all the fun out of getting wasted, rocks....
;-) Oct 10, 2007
rocksinmypockets Ah, but the relief that nepenthes tempts us with comes by way of forgetting. Thus, having no recollection of our prior woes, isn't it likely we will simply find our way right back to worry and pain? Oct 10, 2007
reesetee Think it's over-the-counter yet? ;-) Oct 5, 2007
orbitalcombustion From Odysseus, a substance or drug that relieves one of all worry and pain. Oct 5, 2007
orbitalcombustion From Odysseus, a substance or drug that relieves one of all worry and pain. Oct 5, 2007
brtom Not that Nepenthes which the wife of Thone,
In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena
Is of such power to stir up joy as this ...
Milton, Comus Dec 16, 2006