nə̇ˈpen(t)thē noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin nepenthes, from Greek nēpenthes, neuter of nēpenthēs banishing pain and sorrow, from nē- not + penthos grief, sorrow — more at no , pathos
1.
a. : a potion or drug used by the ancients to give forgetfulness of pain and sorrow and held by some to have been opium or hashish
b. : something capable of causing oblivion of grief or suffering
only in occasional visits to the movies and lending libraries, in idle chatter and consoling gossip and scandal, and in the more unendurable cases to drink, can they find nepenthe — G.J.Nathan
2. : a plant yielding nepenthe
• ne·pen·the·an -ēən adjective