nectar

noun

nec·​tar ˈnek-tər How to pronounce nectar (audio)
1
a
: the drink of the Greek and Roman gods
b
: something delicious to drink
c
: a beverage of fruit juice and pulp
apricot nectar
2
: a sweet liquid that is secreted by the nectaries of a plant and is the chief raw material of honey
nectarous adjective

Did you know?

Nectar is often mentioned in conjunction with ambrosia, the food of the Greek and Roman gods. For centuries, English speakers have used ambrosia to refer to something with an extremely pleasing taste or smell, and nectar to refer to a delicious drink, especially a fruit juice. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, however, the powers of nectar and ambrosia far exceeded those of any earthly fare; consuming nectar and ambrosia gave the gods their immortality. In Greek, the literal meanings of ambrosia and nectar are "immortality" and "overcoming death," respectively. Nektar is believed to be a compound of Greek nek- (probably akin to Latin nec-, meaning "death") and -tar (probably akin to Sanksrit tarati, meaning "he overcomes or crosses over").

Examples of nectar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Why do mosquitoes bite people? Both male and female mosquitoes feed on flower nectar, but female mosquitoes also forage on human blood. Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 26 June 2024 What follows is a unique digestive process that, over time, enables bees to convert nectar into honey, Sánchez-Blanco explains. Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 26 June 2024 Plants have also been shown to respond to sound—the beach evening primrose, a small yellow flower, makes its nectar sweeter when played a recording of a flying honeybee. Rachel Riederer, The New Yorker, 12 June 2024 Things are wriggling, scuffling, jetting by your ear on the way to nectar. Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for nectar 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nectar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek nektar

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of nectar was in 1555

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Dictionary Entries Near nectar

Cite this Entry

“Nectar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nectar. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

nectar

noun
nec·​tar ˈnek-tər How to pronounce nectar (audio)
1
: the drink of the Greek and Roman gods
2
: a sweet liquid given off by plants and especially by the flowers and used by bees in making honey

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