nepenthes
UK /nɪˈpɛnθiːz/ · US /nəˈpɛnθiz/ noun
Forms nepenth nepenthe
- noun A drug mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (c. 8th century B.C.E.) as bringing relief from anxiety or grief; hence, any drug or substance seen as bringing welcome forgetfulness or relief.
- noun A Southeast Asian carnivorous plant of the genus Nepenthes; a monkey cup or tropical pitcher plant.
Synonyms
monkey cup nepenths genus Nepenthes
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin nēpenthes (“a drug bringing relief from grief”), from Ancient Greek νηπενθές (nēpenthés), neuter of νηπενθής (nēpenthḗs, “sorrow-banishing”), from νη- (nē-, “not”) + πένθος (pénthos, “grief”) (from πάσχειν (páskhein), present active infinitive of πάσχω (páskhō, “to be ill or injured in a certain way; to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷendʰ- (“to endure, to suffer”)). Compare French népenthès (“a plant from which a drug supposedly bringing relief from grief may be obtained; such a drug”).
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Same as Nepenthe. Milton.
- noun A genus of climbing plants found in India, Malaya, etc., which have the leaves prolonged into a kind of stout tendril terminating in a pitcherlike appendage, whence the plants are often called pitcher plants and monkey-cups. There are about thirty species, of which the best known is Nepenthes distillatoria. See Pitcher plant.
Etymology [NL., fr. Gr. Nepenthe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nepenthes”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details