Of or relating to southernwood, a fragrant woody plant; possessing properties similar to southernwood.
From Latin abrotanum, the plant southernwood, from Greek abrotanos. The suffix -ine indicates relationship or resemblance to the substance. This botanical term has been used since medieval herbal texts.
Medieval herbalists called southernwood 'lad's love' because it smelled nice, and they used abrotine to describe anything with that sharp, bitter-sweet smell—plant chemistry inspired the entire vocabulary.
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