amaranth
/ˈæməˌɹænθ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.38 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The characteristic purplish-red colour of the flowers or leaves of these plants.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "With ſolemn adoration down they [the angels] caſt / Thir Crowns inwove with Amarant and Gold; / Immortal Amarant, a Flour which once / In Paradiſe, faſt by the Tree of Life / Began to bloom, but ſoon for mans offence / To Heav'n remov'd where firſt it grew, there grows, / And flours aloft ſhading the Fount of Life, […]"
- "Thouſands of flow'rs their ſilken webs unfold, / Amarants, immortal amarants ariſe, / Theſe beaming bright with vegetable gold, / And theſe with azure, theſe with Tyrian dyes; […]"
- "Or, propt on beds of amaranth and moly, / How sweet (while warm airs lull us, blowing lowly,)"
- "The Amaranth’s snowy blossoms, stormwoven, / Shed their soft lustre, o’er thy forehead fair! / By seraph hands the fadeless wreath was woven, / And twined amid thy sunny locks of hair."
- "In the Beginning of September, the Amaranths will have perfected their Seeds, ſo that you muſt make Choice of the largeſt, moſt beautiful, and beſt branching Plants of each Kind for Seed; […]"
- "Floral Decorations. […] Two pyramids of flowers, amaranths, asters, &c. A shield, or circular design, the ground of moss, ornamented with dahlias and globe amaranths."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) Ancient Greek μαραίνω (maraínō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος (amárantos)der. Latin amarantusder. French amarantebor. ▲ Latin amarantusbor. English amaranth Borrowed from French amarante, or directly from its etymon Latin amarantus (the word ending influenced by plant names derived from Ancient Greek ἄνθος (ánthos, “a bloom, blossom, flower”)), from Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος (amárantos, “eternal, undying, unfading, unwilting; amaranth; everlasting flower”) (modern Greek αμάραντος (amárantos)), from ᾰ̓- (ă-, the alpha privativum, a prefix forming words having a sense opposite to the word or stem to which it is attached) + μαραίνω (maraínō, “to shrivel, wither”) + -τος (-tos, suffix forming adjectives).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæməˌɹænθ/
- British English: /ˈæməɹænθ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
African amaranth
Australian amaranth
blood amaranth
California amaranth
common amaranth
common globe amaranth
edible amaranth
Florida amaranth