Etymologically
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absinthe

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæb.sɪnθ/, /ˈæb.sænθ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French absinthe (“wormwood; essence of wormwood”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin absinthium (“wormwood”),[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἀψίνθιον (apsínthion, “wormwood”),[2][3][4][5] a word of foreign origin,[6] perhaps from Persian: compare Persian اسپند (aspand).[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plant wormwood (1612 in the OED, Merriam-Webster and Weekley; before 1500 in Barnhart; c. 1500 in Etymonline).[8][5][9][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The wormwood plant was a figure of bitter sorrow,[4] and Wiktionary records the senses “wormwood” and “bitterness” from Middle English.[1] The liqueur, distilled from wine mixed with wormwood, is first recorded in 1842,[8][3][4] and Weekley says Thackeray is the first to mention it.[9] The French name is short for extrait d'absinthe, essence of wormwood.[4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged notes that it began as a tonic in Switzerland at the end of the 18th century and became associated with the French army in Algeria.[10] Because of its toxicity its production was later banned in many countries.[2][5][11] In the United States the name was also given to the sagebrush (1843).[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1500 – wormwood (Etymonline).[4][3]
  • 1612 – first quotation in the OED.[8][5]
  • 1842 – the liqueur.[8][3][4]
  • 1843 – the sagebrush (US).[8]
  • 1865 – essence of wormwood.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A strong, green, bitter liqueur flavoured with wormwood, anise and other herbs, with a high alcohol content.
  2. The plant wormwood, Artemisia absinthium.
  3. A yellowish-green colour.

Word family

  • absinthial

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House