Noun

• The herb absinthium Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood); essence of wormwood. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
• (figurative) Bitterness; sorrow. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
• A distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored liquor originally made from grande wormwood, anise, and other herbs. [First attested in the mid 19th century.]
• A moderate yellow green; absinthe green. [First attested in the late 19th century.] absinthe green colour:
• (US) Sagebrush.

Noun

• A dry, or sweet apéritif wine flavored with aromatic herbs, and often used in mixed drinks.
• (US standard of identity) An aperitif wine that matches the general description of vermouth.

Examples

• Hyponym: Martini
• He gazed around until on the lid of a spinet he spotted a promising collection of bottles, gin, whiskey, vermouth and sherry, mixed with violin bows, a flute, a toppling pile of books, six volumes of Grove’s Dictionary mingled with paperback thrillers, a guitar without any strings, a pair of binoculars, a meerschaum pipe and a jar half-full of wasps and apricot jam.
• Vermouth originated in the 18th century, when wine growers in the foothills of the French and Italian Alps developed a method of enhancing the taste of sour or uncompromising wines with the infusion of a variety of sweeteners, spices, herbs, roots, seeds, flowers, and peel.