ambrosia
ambrosia Lexical Profile
ambrosia Game Scores & Validity
• noun
In classical Greek and Roman mythology, the sacred food of the gods, believed to confer ageless immortality upon anyone who consumed it.
"According to ancient myth, the Olympian deities dined on ambrosia and drank nectar in their golden halls."
Something with an exceptionally delicious taste or fragrant aroma.
"After a long day hiking in the cold rain, the hot spiced cider tasted like pure ambrosia."
American A traditional Southern American fruit salad dessert typically made with oranges, pineapple, shredded coconut, miniature marshmallows, and whipped cream or sour cream.
"My grandmother always brings a chilled bowl of ambrosia to our family holiday dinners."
A symbiotic fungus cultivated inside tree galleries by certain wood-boring beetles as their primary source of nutrition, or bee bread made of pollen and honey.
"The female beetle excavates a tunnel in the sapwood and inoculates the walls with ambrosia to feed her developing larvae."
Word Nuance & Usage
In classical mythology, ambrosia is traditionally the food of the gods, whereas nectar is their drink, though ancient and modern writers occasionally interchange the two.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Latin from Ancient Greek 'ambrosia' (literally 'immortality'), derived from 'ambrotos' ('immortal'), combining the privative prefix 'a-' ('not') with 'mbrotos' ('mortal').