Nepenthes

/nɪˈpɛnθiːz/ · noun

Meaning

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..

Definitions by Sense

1. 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.
2. A Southeast Asian carnivorous plant of the genus Nepenthes; a monkey cup or tropical pitcher plant.
3. (archaic) plural of nepenthe.

Example Sentences

[A]ll ye (whom I ſee here preſente) doe fare as if ye were well whittled, and thoroughly moyſted with the Nectar wine of Homericall godds, not without a portion of that iuyce of that meruailous herbe Nepenthes, whiche hath force to put ſadneſſe and meloncholie from the herte: […]

And in her other hand a cup ſhe hild, / The which was with Nepenthe to the brim vpfild. // Nepenthe is a drinck of ſouerayne grace, / Deuized by the Gods, for to aſſwage / Harts grief, and bitter gall away to chace, / VVhich ſtirs vp anguiſh and contentious rage: / In ſtead thereof ſweet peace and quiet age / It doth eſtablish in the troubled mynd.

Read the Scripture […] T'is the beſt Nepenthes, ſureſt cordiall, ſweeteſt alteratiue, preſenteſt diuerter: […]

"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee / Respite—respite and Nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore. Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"

Homer of Moly and Nepenthe singes: / Moly, the gods most soveraigne hearbe divine. / Nepenth Hellen's drink, which gladnes brings,— / Hart's greife repells, and doth yᵉ witts refine.

The nepenth of nostalgia is replaced by an amphetamine of anticipation.

And how marvellous were the shapes of the nepenthes, how beautiful the colour, how delicate in form!

NEPENTHA′CEÆ, Nepenths, a natural order of Exogenous Plants inhabiting the damper and warmer parts of Asia, and having, in the place of leaves, large hollow bodies furnished with a lid, and containing water secreted from a peculiar glandular apparatus with which they are lined. […] [T]he adherent ovary of Birthworts, their highly developed calyx, axile placentation, and hermaphrodite flowers, are serious difficulties in the way of a close contact between them and Nepenths, unless the peculiar structure of the wood, the consideration of which I for the present abandon, should lead to the final establishment of the class of Homogens, in which case Nepenths and Birthworts will be brought into contact or at least a near neighbourhood.

Synonyms for nepenthes

Antonyms for nepenthes

Related Words

Word Forms

• nepenth
• nepenthe

Usage Notes

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