amaranth

Meaning

1. (countable, dated, poetic, uncountable) An imaginary flower that does not wither.
2. (countable, uncountable) Any of various herbs of the genus Amaranthus.
3. (countable, uncountable) The characteristic purplish-red colour of the flowers or leaves of these plants.
4. (countable, uncountable) A red to purple azo dye used as a biological stain, and in some countries in cosmetics and as a food colouring. See Amaranth (dye).
5. (countable, uncountable) The seed of these plants, used as a cereal.

Synonyms

pigweed

tumbleweed

love-lies-bleeding

cockscomb

flowering shrub

sauce

lilac

immortelle

Prince’s feather

purpleheart

violetwood

purple heart

💜

mauve

Translations

amarante

Amarant

amaranto

amaranto

amarant

amaranto

amarant

αμάραντος

Fuchsschwanz

amaranthe

kattestaart

αμάραντο

Amaranthus retroflexus

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈæməɹænθ/

Etymology

Cognate with Greek: αμάραντος

In summary

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).