The story
- Proto-West Germanic · derived from*warjamōdā“wormwood”
- Old English · derived fromwermōd“wormwood, absinthe”
- Middle English · inherited fromwormwode
- English todaywormwood
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.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.