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nepenthe (ni-PEN-thee) - n., a drug described by ancient Greek writers as giving relief from or forgetfulness of grief; anything bringing forgetfulness of sorrow or pain, or a pleasurable dreaminess.
Mentioned in the Odyssey (iv.221), where it is brewed by Helen using a recipe she learned in Egypt. In the original it was nēpenthes (pharmakon), from ne-, not + penthos, pain, grief (+ drug), but when it was borrowed into English (in the 1590s) the -s was taken to indicate a plural and dropped to "form" a singular. Trippy, man.
---L.
Mentioned in the Odyssey (iv.221), where it is brewed by Helen using a recipe she learned in Egypt. In the original it was nēpenthes (pharmakon), from ne-, not + penthos, pain, grief (+ drug), but when it was borrowed into English (in the 1590s) the -s was taken to indicate a plural and dropped to "form" a singular. Trippy, man.
---L.
