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# wormwood

noun (wormwood — uncountable; a wormwood plant)

«wormwood» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A plant with silvery-grey leaves and a very bitter taste, used long ago in medicine and in some strong drinks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#m1)
2. Something very bitter or painful to bear: «The defeat was wormwood to him.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#m2)
3. (Bible) In the Bible wormwood stands for bitterness and sorrow, and in the Book of Revelation «Wormwood» is the name of a star that falls and makes waters bitter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and history lessons it is a herb of old medicine; its name comes from an old belief that it drove out worms. In stories and poems «gall and wormwood» means great bitterness. In the Bible (Lamentations, Revelation) it is a sign of grief. Phrases: «gall and wormwood», «as bitter as wormwood».

### Examples

- Wormwood has soft grey leaves and smells strong. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x1)
- The old herbalist hung bunches of wormwood to dry. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x2)
- Wormwood tastes so bitter that nobody wanted a second sip. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x3)
- In the story, losing the race was wormwood to the proud prince. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x4)
- In Revelation, a star called Wormwood falls from the sky. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x5)
- Gardeners sometimes plant wormwood to keep some insects away. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x6)
- But scarcely had he drunk a very little of the water when he became worse than before, for it was as bitter as wormwood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/#x7)

### Note

Usually uncountable. It is not a worm and not wood. Some wormwood is poisonous in large amounts, so never eat wild plants. In Ukrainian, a kind of wormwood is called «chornobyl», which people sometimes link to the Chernobyl story.

## In Jewish tradition

A very bitter plant. In Proverbs and Lamentations it stands for bitterness and sorrow.

**Interpretation.** The tradition reads wormwood as a picture of suffering, such as the grief of the people after Jerusalem fell.

### Examples

- Remember mine affliction and mine anguish, the wormwood and the gall. (Writings LAM.3.19, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wormwood/#x1)
- But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. (Writings PRO.5.4, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wormwood/#x2)
- He hath filled me with bitterness, He hath sated me with wormwood. (Writings LAM.3.15, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wormwood/#x3)

### Note

Usually uncountable. It is not a worm and not wood. Some wormwood is poisonous in large amounts, so never eat wild plants. In Ukrainian, a kind of wormwood is called «chornobyl», which people sometimes link to the Chernobyl story.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «wormwood» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wormwood/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«wormwood» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wormwood.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «wormwood» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wormwood/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«wormwood» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/wormwood.html) on Mova free.