absinthe

noun

ab·​sinthe ˈab-(ˌ)sin(t)th 

variants or less commonly absinth

1

: wormwood sense 1

2

: a green or sometimes colorless distilled liquor with high alcoholic content that is flavored with wormwood, anise, and other aromatic herbs (such as fennel)

also : a similar liquor that is made without wormwood

Did you know?

In 1797, Swiss Henri-Louis Pernod was the first to commercially produce an alcoholic drink from the bitter herb Artemisia absinthium, known commonly as wormwood. By the mid-to-late 1800s this bright green distillation, by then known in both French and English as "absinthe," had become wildly popular, especially among artists and writers, but it also had a reputation for making people a little wild. In fact, it was linked to several nasty disorders, including convulsions and foaming at the mouth. The accused culprit? A toxin in wormwood - perhaps the very chemical that gives the plant its tapeworm-exterminating properties (and thus its name). Because of these reported side effects of wormwood, true absinthe was banned in many countries (including the U.S.) in the early 1900s, but that didn't remove the taste for the drink. Wormwood’s name was later cleared (the real culprit turned out to be the drink’s high alcohol content) and the absinthe ban was lifted in the U.S. in 2007.

Examples of absinthe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Invented at Sazerac House in the late 19th century, the Sazerac cocktail originally consisted of French brandy (specifically Cognac), Peychaud’s Bitters (created by a New Orleans apothecary in the 1830s), sugar, and absinthe. —Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2026

The beverage program will feature cocktails like a sorghum old-fashioned; an Atlanta Sazerac with peach bitters, rye, cane syrup and an absinthe rinse; and the restaurant’s take on a mint julep called the George gold. —Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026

This Old Fashioned variation is an Improved Whiskey Cocktail (whiskey, maraschino, bitters, and absinthe) without the absinthe. —Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 24 Jan. 2026

In its stead, Shelter Distillery will move into the vacant space sometime in early-to-mid 2026, offering guests its own creations, including whiskey, bourbon and agave spirits, as well as vodka, liqueurs, rums, limoncello and even a take on absinthe. —Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 30 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English absinthe, borrowed from Latin absinthium, apsinthium "wormwood, infusion of wormwood," borrowed from Latin absinthium, apsinthium, borrowed from Greek apsínthion, of pre-Greek substratal origin; (sense 2) borrowed from French absinthe, going back to Middle French, "wormwood," borrowed from Latin absinthium

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Medical Definition

absinthe

noun

ab·​sinthe

variants also absinth

ˈab-(ˌ)sin(t)th 

1

: wormwood

2

: a green liqueur flavored with wormwood or a substitute, anise, and other aromatics