# wormwood

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwə(ɹ)m.wʊd/ · frequency rank #47,428

## Definitions
1. An intensely bitter herb (Artemisia absinthium and similar plants in genus Artemisia) used in medicine, in the production of absinthe and vermouth, and as a tonic.
2. Something that causes bitterness or affliction; a cause of mortification or vexation.

## Etymology
From Middle English wormwode, a folk etymology (as if worm + wood) of wermode (“wormwood”), from Old English wermōd (“wormwood, absinthe”), from Proto-West Germanic *warjamōdā (“wormwood”). Cognate with Middle Low German wermode, wermede (“wormwood”), German Wermut (“wormwood”). Doublet of vermouth.

## Common misspellings (12)
`owrmwood`, `womrwood`, `wormmwood`, `wormowod`, `wormwod`, `wormwodo`, `wormwoodd`, `wormwwood`, `worrmwood`, `worwmood`, `wromwood`, `wwormwood`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wormwood