Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A sweet liquid secreted by flowers of various plants, consumed by pollinators, such as hummingbirds and insects, and gathered by bees for making honey.
- n. Greek & Roman Mythology The drink of the gods.
- n. A delicious or invigorating drink.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In classical mythology, the drink or wine of the Olympian gods, poured out for them by Hebe and Ganymede, the cupbearers of Zeus. It was reputed to possess wondrous life-giving properties, to impart a divine bloom, beauty, and vigor to him so fortunate as to obtain it, and to preserve all that it touched from decay and corruption. See
ambrosia . - n. Hence, any delicious and salubrious drink. Specifically— A drink compounded of wine, honey, and spices. Also called
piment . - n. In botany, the honey of a flower; the superfluous saccharine matter remaining after the stamens and pistils have consumed all that they require.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Myth. & Poetic) The drink of the gods (as ambrosia was their food); hence, any delicious or inspiring beverage.
- n. (Bot.) A sweetish secretion of blossoms from which bees make honey.
WordNet 3.0
- n. fruit juice especially when undiluted
- n. (classical mythology) the food and drink of the gods; mortals who ate it became immortal
- n. a sweet liquid secretion that is attractive to pollinators
Etymologies
- From Latin nectar, from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (nektar, "nourishment of the gods"), from νέκ ("death") (see necro-) + ταρ ("overcoming"), from Proto-Indo-European *tere (“to overcome, pass through, cross over”). (Wiktionary)
- Latin, from Greek nektar, drink of the gods; see nek-1 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Detecting poisons in nectar is an odour-ous task for honeybees”
“-- The term nectar was used by the early Greeks to mean the drink of the gods.”
“I suppose this is what they call nectar and ambrosia," said Magnus.”
“keich nectar comes from the Greek word "drink of the gods" so your idea is possible.”
“SHAPIRO: One group of students picked basil for a salad, while other kids showed Mrs. Obama how to suck the nectar from the base of a purple flower called agastache.”
“Lulu, yes, clam nectar is the same thing as bottled clam juice.”
Recipe for Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille (Red Pepper Sauce)
“Flower nectar is primarily comprised of sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators.”
“A tangle of honeysuckle blossoms for Jules and the entire family - the sweet nectar is there inside, though we sometimes have to work to find it.”
“Agave nectar is a newfangled product of the ancient agave plant, the same succulent that gives us tequila.”
“When it lets up we watch the jeweled hummingbirds collecting nectar from the orange tree outside my bedroom window.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘nectar’.
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grade 3
ability, absorb, act, tive, actual, adopt, advantage, ambition, ancient, arrange, arctic, attitude and 125 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 330 more...
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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AGRI - apiculture
acacia, alfalfa, Arbutus unedo, ash content, baker's honey, Banksia menziesii, bee plant, Bell heather, blackberry honey, blend of honeys, blossom honey, borage and 183 more...
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food collection
bread, peel, pot, chorizo, Filet, olive, fill, Phyllo, dough, bake, mat, pinot and 988 more...
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Ayumi G3
Ability, absorb, accuse, act, active, actual, adopt, advantage, advice, ambition, ancient, approach and 128 more...
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The sweetest thing.
A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down!
sugary, sweetness, fragrant, cloying, saccharine, honey, luscious, nectar, pudding, pastry, bittersweet, cupcake and 44 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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miscellany
extrapolate, effluvium, maelstrom, ecclesiastic, potentiate, prestidigitation, verisimilitude, innocuous, octogenarian, interlocutor, proselytize, ubiquitous and 138 more...
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figgiegirl's list
Words that have some type of sensual innuendo or linkage
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maygra
apropos, advantageous, perception, discombobulated, adumbrate, apogee, perihelion, mortmain, solitudinous, mediastinus, asumbrative, traveler and 498 more...
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Flutter
tuberose, golden apple, apple cider, unicorn, extraordinary, Pleiades, Merope, speckle, glitter, rose, pitter-pat, whale and 314 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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wanderstar's Words
superlative, mulish, mumps, catatonic, aquiline, clandestine, phantasmagoria, chryselephantine, microfiche, mutineer, reprobate, ruthless and 312 more...
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The O.U.P. Junior Dictionary Death Row
Another news story about words being removed from a dictionary before their time. See also the list of words added to the dictionary.
carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe, dwarf, elf, goblin, abbey, aisle, altar, bishop and 137 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for nectar.
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