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nepenthes

Pronunciation: /nɪˈpɛnθiːz/

Definition of nepenthes

noun

  • 1 (also nepenthe) [mass noun] literary a drug described in Homer’s Odyssey as banishing grief or trouble from a person’s mind.
  • a drug or potion bringing welcome forgetfulness.
  • 2a plant of a genus that comprises the Old World pitcher plants.
    • Genus Nepenthes and family Nepenthaceae

Origin:

via Latin from Greek nēpenthēs 'dispelling pain', from nē- 'not' + penthos 'grief'; sense 2 is from modern Latin

nepenthes in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of nepenthes in the US English dictionary
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