southernwood

American  

[suhth-ern-wood] / ˈsʌð ərnˌwʊd /

noun

1. a woody-stemmed wormwood, Artemisia abrotanum, of southern Europe, having aromatic, finely dissected leaves.

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southernwood British  

/ ˈsʌðənˌwʊd /

noun

1. Also called: old man.   lad's love.  an aromatic shrubby wormwood, Artemisia abrotanum, of S Europe, having finely dissected leaves and small drooping heads of yellowish flowers

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Etymology

Origin of southernwood

before 1000; Middle English southernwode, Old English sūtherne wudu. See southern, wood ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

southernwood

Sweet-briar and southernwood, jasmine, pink, and rose have long been yielding their evening sacrifice of incense: this new scent is neither of shrub nor flower; it is—I know it well—it is Mr. Rochester’s cigar.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

The summer flowers were disappearing; but the more hardy roots, the spearmint, the gillyflower, the thyme, and the southernwood, sent forth to the autumnal air "a faint decaying smell."

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 5 by Various

She was just tucking a bit of southernwood into her bodice, when a voice on the other side of the hedge said softly,— “Jenny.”

From The Gold that Glitters The Mistakes of Jenny Lavender by W.O.E. Evans

For little trees in tubs we had southernwood stuck in cotton reels—these make enchanting tubs, and there are a good many different shapes, so that your flower tubs are pleasantly varied.

From Wings and the Child or, the Building of Magic Cities by E. (Edith) Nesbit

Beth had old-fashioned, fragrant flowers in her garden,—sweet peas and mignonette, larkspur, pinks, pansies, and southernwood, with chickweed for the bird, and catnip for the pussies.

From Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott