absinthe

Noun

absinthe (countable and uncountable, plural absinthes)

1. The herb absinthium Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood); essence of wormwood.
2. (figuratively) Bitterness; sorrow.
3. A distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored liquor originally made from grande wormwood, anise, and other herbs.
   • Let us go out and drink to the very good health of Monsieur Tarzan in some of old Plancon’s unparalleled absinth; not forgetting that the Count de Coude is one of the best swordsmen in Paris, and by far the best shot in all France.1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Plot That Failed”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, page 63
   • Absinthe ads like to trade on artists like Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec, as if the history of the green fairy began in the Pigalle neighborhood of 1870s Paris, but wormwood-infused drinks have been around for thousands of years.2010, Paul Owens, Paul Nathan, The Little Green Book of Absinthe, Penguin, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   green fairy

4. A moderate yellow green.

   Synonyms:

   absinthe green

5. absinthe green

   Synonyms:

   absinthe green

6. (US) Sagebrush.