ambrosia
/æmˈbɹoʊʒə/ noun
Forms ambrosias ambrosiae
- noun (Greek mythology, Roman mythology) The food of the gods, thought to confer immortality.
- noun (Greek mythology, Roman mythology) The anointing-oil of the gods.
- noun Any food with an especially delicious flavour or fragrance.
- noun Anything delightfully sweet and pleasing.
- noun An annual herb historically used medicinally and in cooking, Dysphania botrys.
- noun A mixture of nectar and pollen prepared by worker bees and fed to larvae.
- noun Any fungus of a number of species that insects such as ambrosia beetles carry as symbionts, "farming" them on poor-quality food such as wood, where they grow, providing food for the insect.
- noun A dessert originating in the Southern United States made of shredded coconuts and tropical fruits such as pineapples and oranges; some recipes also include ingredients such as marshmallow and cream.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin ambrosia (“food of the gods”), from Ancient Greek ἀμβροσία (ambrosía, “immortality”), from ἄμβροτος (ámbrotos, “immortal”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βροτός (brotós, “mortal”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) The fabled food of the gods (as nectar was their drink), which conferred immortality upon those who partook of it. (b) An unguent of the gods.
- noun A perfumed unguent, salve, or draught; something very pleasing to the taste or smell. Spenser.
Etymology [L. ambrosia, Gr. mrita, L. mortuus, dead, and to E. mortal.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ambrosia”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details