wormwood English · revision 850

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈwɜːm.wʊd/ ''(UK)''; /ˈwɚm.wʊd/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration by folk etymology, as if from [[worm]] and [[wood]], of [[inh|enm|wermod]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[inh|ang|wermōd|t=wormwood, absinthe]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) related to [[de|Wermut]] and to [[vermouth]], but of unknown ultimate origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Weekley suggests ''wer'' “man” and ''mōd'' “courage”, from the herb's early use as an aphrodisiac.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The plant ''Artemisia absinthium'', proverbial for its bitter taste (before 1400–50 in the OED; before 1400 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Perhaps because of the folk etymology, wormwood was used as a vermifuge and to protect clothes and bedding from moths and fleas.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Its bitterness made it an emblem of what is bitter and grievous to the soul (1535),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) as in the phrase ''to be wormwood'' or ''gall and wormwood'' to someone, to be acutely vexing (1809).^(OED 1989) It is used in making [[absinthe]] and in flavouring certain wines.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – Old English ''wermōd''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1400 – ''wormwod''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1535 – figuratively, bitterness, grief.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1809 – ''to be wormwood'', to vex acutely.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of several aromatic plants of the genus ''[[Artemisia]]'', especially the bitter European ''A. absinthium'', used in making [[absinthe]] and in medicine.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something harsh, bitter or grievous; [[bitterness]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vermouth]]

+ * [[absinthe]]

+ * [[mugwort]]

+ * [[gall]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}