|[ni-pen-thee] | noun1 (also nepenthes) |nəˈpenTHēz| literary a drug described as banishing grief or trouble from a person's mind.• any drug or potion bringing welcome forgetfulness.[via Latin from Greek nēpenthēs  ‘dispelling pain,’ from nē-  ‘not’ + penthos  ‘grief.’]2 a plant of a genus that comprises the Old World pitcher plants.[modern Latin.]