| 释义 |
‖ nepenthe|nɪˈpɛnθiː|
[Alteration of nepenthes.]
1. A drink or drug supposed to bring forgetfulness of trouble or grief. = nepenthes 1.
1596Spenser F.Q. iv. iii. 42 In her other hand a cup she hild, The which was with Nepenthe to the brim upfild. c1600Distr. Emperor i. i. in Bullen O. Pl. (1884) III. 171 From thys lypp Puerer Nepenthe flowes. 1630R. Brathwait Eng. Gentlem. (1641) 100 Those who are ever carousing in the cup of Nepenthe, steeping their senses in the Lethe of forgetfulness. 1738Pope Epil. Sat. i. 98 Lull'd with the sweet Nepenthe of a Court. 1754Chesterfield World No. 92 ⁋6 Gallons of the Nepenthe would be lost upon him. The more he drinks, the duller he grows. a1822Shelley Triumph Life 359 In her right hand she bore a crystal glass, Mantling with bright Nepenthe. 1898T. Watts Dunton Coming of Love 45 [They] prated of some nepenthe..To quell his love as by a magic potion.
b. Med. A drug possessing sedative properties.
1681tr. Willis' Rem. Med. Wks. Vocab., Nepenthe, a drink to drive away melancholy. 1727–38Chambers Cycl., Nepenthe, in pharmacy, is a name given to a kind of opiate. 1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 775 Dr. Cheadle speaks highly of nepenthe for children.
2. The plant supposed to supply the drug.
1623Cockeram 111, Nepenthe, an hearb which being steeped and dranke in wine, expelleth sadnesse. 1649Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. iii. Disc. xviii. 115 The Moly or Nepenthe of Pliny. 1819Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. iv. 61 Folded Elysian flowers, Nepenthe, Moly, Amaranth.
Hence neˈpenthean a.
1892A. M. Clerke Fam. Stud. Homer viii. 229 The proposal of Telemachus to retire to rest shortly after the nepenthean cup has gone round. |