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April 08, 2004
Modern Nepenthe
Nepenthe : ne·pen·the
Pronunciation: n&-'pen(t)-thE
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin nepenthes, from Greek nEpenthes, neuter of nEpenthEs banishing pain and sorrow, fromnE- not + penthos grief, sorrow; akin to Greek pathos suffering -- more at NO, PATHOS
Date: 1580
1 : a potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain or sorrow
2 : something capable of causing oblivion of grief or suffering
3 : A synonym for liquid Opium used in the 19th century, for example, in Poe's "The Raven"
4: A genus (Nepenthes) of carnivorous tropical pitcher plants
"Can we become numb to life's sharpest arrows," asks the president's bioethics council, "without becoming numb to its greatest joys?"
Posted by lainey at April 8, 2004 04:51 AM