hemp

plural hemps

1. countableuncountableA tall annual herb, Cannabis sativa, native to Asia.

   Among Turks, pills consisting of hemp buds, muscat nuts, saffron, and honey were a popular aphrodisiac.

   1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 113

2. countableuncountableVarious products of this plant, including fibres and the drug cannabis.
3. countablehistoricalslanguncountableThe gallows.

   1 more example

   A hundred and fifty years ago, Cotton Mather bewails the carnal attractions of the tavern and the training field, and tells of an old Indian, who imperfectly understood the English tongue but desperately mastered enough of it to express a desire for instant hemp rather than listen to any more ghostly consolations.

   1864, James Russell Lowell, Fireside Travels

plural Hemps

1. A surname.

plural HEMPs

1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse.

   1 more example

   The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has confirmed the Navy has hardened bases against a High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) attack but denied that a new base had been specifically built for this purpose.[…] On Monday (Oct. 30), RW News cited sources familiar with the matter as saying the Navy has already completed a base in New Taipei City's Sanzhi District that can withstand HEMP attacks.[…] If China was to launch a HEMP attack, the base in Sanzhi would probably still be able to command the launch of Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile launchers in northern coastal areas, as well as shore-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The firing of such missiles would prevent PLA Navy (PLAN) ships from entering the northern and northeastern waters of the Taiwan Strait. When asked to confirm that a new base has been built in Sanzhi District to withstand a HEMP attack, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) on Monday (Oct. 30) said the work was part of an ongoing project, reported Liberty Times.

   2023 October 30, Keoni Everington, “Defense ministry confirms New Taipei Naval base hardened against nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack”, in Taiwan News, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2023, Politics

   Synonyms: HAEMP