The wormwood plant (Artemisia absinthium) from which absinthe liqueur is made; also the plant itself used medicinally.
Directly from Latin absinthium, which came from Greek apsinthion, possibly from a-psinthos (not pleasant-tasting). Romans used this Latin term for the bitter wormwood plant, which is where modern European languages borrowed it.
Wormwood (absinthium) has been used for 2,500 years—mentioned in the Bible and used by ancient Greeks to expel parasitic worms—making it one of humanity's oldest medicinal plants, long before absinthe became fashionable.
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